Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 2: After taking serious note by the High Court on construction of Tehsil Office within the prohibited area of Dal Lake, authorities undertook before the court that till next date of hearing, no construction shall be carried on the subject site.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Arun Palli and Justice Rajnesh Oswal questioned the ongoing construction of Tehsil Office building. The query was raised in an application filed by a resident of the vicinity alleging that the construction is illegal and unauthorized as the same is without building permission and also within the ban limits of Dal lake.
The court has been informed by the applicant-counsel that the construction is being raised without obtaining any building permission from the competent authority-Lakes Conservation Management Authority (LCMA) and is also in direct violation of the binding directions of High Court whereby complete ban has been imposed on all types of construction activities falling within 200 meters from the fringe of Dal lake.
The applicant apprised the court that he approached the (LCMA) on several occasions with the request that the authorities shall ensure that the illegal construction in question is stopped, however, no action has been taken by the LCMA on ground.
During the course of arguments, the LCMA has been held responsible for the activities as the same is the primary agency responsible for preventing such violations and the court has been further apprised that the LCMA has failed to take any action against the illegal construction being carried out by the Tehsildar North.
“The construction of the Tehsil building falls within 200 meters from the fringe of Dal lake, a zone where this court has imposed complete and unambiguous ban on any type of construction. The activity going on is therefore per se illegal, void, unauthorized and wholly without jurisdiction. The officials of Tehsil North and LCMA and the district administration are the very authority who are bound to enforce and implement the orders of this court and the participation in an illegal construction within the prohibited zone constitutes not merely administrative negligence but a willful defiance of the court directions”, read the application.
The court granted time as sought by the Government counsel to seek instructions fairly submitted before the bench that till the adjourned date no fresh construction shall be carried out at the site.
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