LI Network
Published on: 26 August 2023 at 16:42 IST
The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has taken a strong stance on building violations, directing the Municipal Commissioner of Jammu to provide a comprehensive affidavit detailing the severity of major and minor building violations.
This directive also includes information about actions taken against erring enforcement inspectors. The court’s focus is particularly on the Green Belt Park and Gandhi Nagar areas.
Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal issued these directions during the hearing of a petition related to the Municipal Corporation’s decision to seal a property in Gandhi Nagar using Section 8(1) of the Jammu and Kashmir Control of Building Operations Act, 1988.
The property’s owners argued that it had been commercially utilized for over two decades with the corporation’s implicit consent.
The property owners contended that previous building violations had been regularized through a tribunal order in 2000, and they considered the sudden sealing of their property to be unjust and against principles of natural justice.
Recognizing the need for intervention, Justice Nargal issued an interim order to halt the property sealing temporarily.
The Court directed the Municipal Commissioner to submit an affidavit containing the following information:
1. The number of major and minor building violations identified since the inception of the Jammu and Kashmir Control of Building Operations Act, 1988.
2. A list of properties sealed due to violations, particularly in the Green Belt Park and Gandhi Nagar areas.
3. Actions taken against subordinate officers, including Khilafwarzi Officers and enforcement inspectors, involved in fostering or neglecting building violations.
4. How the Municipal Corporation addresses cases where residential properties are used for commercial purposes without proper authorization.
5. Instances where commercial activities have received legal permissions in residential zones, along with the scrutiny process for granting such permissions.