Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Nov 10: In a significant development, the Jammu Development Authority has ordered demolition of ‘illegally’ constructed bungalow of former Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader, Dr Nirmal Singh at village Ban in Nagrota on outskirts of Jammu.
An notice in this regard has been issued by the Building Operations Controlling Authority, JDA, to Nirmal Singh and his wife Mamta Singh, who is owner of the land on which this ‘illegal’ bungalow has been constructed without valid permission from the competent authority as prescribed under law.
“You are hereby directed to remove the illegal construction on your own level within five days from the date of issuance of the order. If you fail to remove the illegal construction within stipulated period of time, the same shall be demolished by enforcement wing of JDA and cost of removal shall be recovered from you as arrears of land revenue,” read the JDA order number JDA/BOCA/A/1271-76, dated 8-11-2021.
Nirmal Singh and his family moved into this palatial bungalow near the Army’s ammunition depot at Ban village of Nagrota on July 23, last year even though the High Court of J&K had directed the authorities in May 2018 to ensure strict implementation of a 2015 notification barring general public from carrying out any construction within 1000 yards of defence works.
The Excelsior had exclusively reported alleged misuse of official power by then Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh to facilitate the illegal construction of his bungalow in complete violation of the law, even as the Defence Ministry and the Army authorities too had unsuccessfully invoked legal provisions to stop him.
The construction of this illegal bungalow near an Army ammunition depot in Ban village of Jammu’s Nagrota was started in 2017, when Dr Nirmal Singh was the Deputy Chief Minister in the PDP-BJP Coalition Government.
Pertinent to mention that a 2015 notification by the Defence Ministry prohibits people from undertaking any construction work within 1,000 yards of armed forces’ establishments whereas the disputed bungalow has been raised by Dr Nirmal Singh barely 580 yards from the ammunition depot. The ‘buffer zone’ between Army installations and civilian areas is meant to serve as deterrence for terrorists and also provides safety for civilians areas. The illegal construction has shrunk the open area for surveillance and monitoring which poses a security risk to the ammunition depot.
In a letter to Nirmal Singh on March 19, 2018, then 16 Corps Commander, Lt General Saranjeet had said that the bungalow was being built ‘illegally’ and it posed a `security risk’ to the ammunition depot. The Army had also written to the J&K Government on three occasions and approached the J&K Police twice to stop the work and initiate action against the offenders since the construction was in “violation of the Works of Defence Act, 1903” but no action was taken.
The 2,000-square-yard plot, registered in the name of Dr Nirmal Singh’s wife, Mamta Singh, is part of a large tract of land purportedly purchased by the senior BJP leaders who had floated a company called Himgiri Infrastructure Development Limited. Mamta Singh was a shareholder in Himgiri Infrastructure Development Limited along with another former Deputy Chief Minister, Kavinder Gupta and BJP MP Jugal Kishore among others. The company had allegedly taken a term loan of Rs 18.50 crore along with a cash credit facility of Rs 56.83 lakh from Jammu and Kashmir Bank in 2012 to set up a Power project in Himachal’s Chamba district. The account was declared a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) in December 2017.
Even as the bungalow was officially identified as ‘illegal’, no cognizance was earlier taken by JDA for the reasons best known to the concerned authorities. The action was initiated recently when a show cause notice was issued to Nirmal Singh and his wife Mamta Singh Under Section 7(1) of J&K Control of Building Operation Act 1988.
However, official sources told the Excelsior that no reply in response to the show cause notices was received by JDA following which the ‘Order of Demolition’ in terms of section 7(3) of Control of Building Operation Act 1988 was issued on Monday.
Confirming the receipt of the JDA’s ‘Order of Demolition’, Dr Nirmal Singh claimed that the matter was sub-judice and he would be consulting his lawyers for future course of action.
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