Located in the lap of Trikuta Hills and commanding scenic beauty, the own of Katra situated at a distance of thirty-seven miles from Jammu has suddenly shot into prominence for two reasons. One is that it is the starting point for uphill ascent to reach the holy shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi, and second it has been connected by railway line with Udhampur. Nearly a crore of pilgrims from all the four corners of the country visit the shrine as pilgrims. Influx of such a large population into a tiny town of few thousand inhabitants, naturally has given it tremendous economic and political boost. Finding that even a small shop in Katra town was good enough to generate means of sustenance for a family of three or four souls, there happened mad rush for acquiring vantage patches of land in the town. Migration of people to Katra town from suburban hilly habitations suddenly shot up and new comers grabbed wherever a patch of land was available for sale. The net result is that many buildings and structures, commercial and residential came up without proper permission either by the Katra Municipal Committee or by the sources of Katra Maser Plan. Vandals grabbed land wherever they could find and even encroached upon Government land and thus raised buildings with commercial motives.
In his status report the Divisional Commissioner Jammu informed the High Court Bench which is hearing a PIL against illegal constructions raised in Katra that 90 illegal structures, buildings and houses were identified that had been raised without the permission of Katra Municipal Committee and in violation of the notification of Master Plan for Katra town. Not only that even Government land had been encroached upon thus reducing the width of the streets so narrow as to make passage through these very difficult. It is a pity that Municipal and other authorities have not taken adequate steps at the nick of time to stop illegal and unauthorized construction of private structures on state land. Should we attribute it to corruption, cynicism or to sheer dereliction of dusty? In any case they will be held responsible for allowing gross irregularities to happen which they were expected to stop and put a halt to. Obviously a structure cannot come up unless there is a nexus working behind the scene. It is clear that there is an understanding between the builders and revenue authorities. Keeping in view the audacity of land grabbers and selfish owners, the Divisional Bench has taken a serious notice of the case and issued orders to the Government to requisition the help of the police for demolishing of these illegal constructions in Katra. Now the ball is in the court of the Divisional Commissioner Jammu and the police force in the district to provide shelter to the demonstrators.
We said that Katra is assuming significance as an important station for pilgrimage to the shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi. The Shrine Board has very painstakingly created all possible facilities for millions of pilgrims to the shrine and much more will be done in coming years. A town that is visited by such a large number of pilgrims should be attractive, clean, and spacious and must carry semblance of cultural originality. It cannot be allowed to degenerate into a ghetto and then turn it into a heap of muck. With considerate planning, Katra can become a very attractive town given its natural setting. Nature is bounteous no doubt to the town but human beings, too, have to be equally visionary and enthusiastic to keep the town and is suburbs very attractive. The Divisional Bench of the High Court while delivering judgment has given vent to their disappointment caused by vandals taking law into their hand, and the municipal or Government authorities standing as unconcerned spectators of their vandalism. The issue of encroachment of land or illegally and unauthorized raising of structures for commercial and residential purposes should have been resolved by the Municipal Committee authorities and the intervention of the court should have been avoided. The court has many serious and urgent issues to handle. We cannot impinge upon the time of the High Court just for our negligence of duty.
In his status report the Deputy Commissioner of Reasi in whose jurisdiction Katra falls, mentioned various steps taken to prevent illegal constructions. These are desirable steps but belated action has not helped stem the tide. He should have moved quickly without wasting time and before the structures were completed, this activity should have been obstructed. But the way clandestine structures have come up speaks of like lawless situation. It cannot be free for all. After all, structures do not come up overnight. It takes months if not years to build a residential or commercial structure. Where were the Katra Municipal authorities while illegal and unauthorized activity was going on? Maybe the builders have political connections and have misused that in their interests. No state can allow this to happen. We entreat authorities to execute the orders of the court in letter and in spirit meaning that demolition should take place in one go so that it spreads out a message to others who might be harbouring similar mischief.
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