In brazen violation of High Court directives and Master Plan for Srinagar, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party led Govt has allowed construction of a mega commercial building on the virgin banks of river Jhelum near busy Abdullah Bridge in Srinagar.
The construction started at the “disputed site” only after the ruling PDP came to power. Earlier, in 2006, the then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had outrightly disallowed proposed construction and notified the site for construction of a public park.
But the Dracula has returned from the grave. While the man from Shopian claims “proprietary rights” over the land, legally and practically it was serving as a mini flood-basin, where dewatering from RajBagh would exhaust, before meeting adjacent Jhelum.
No lessons learnt from September 2014-floods, and without any probe into the legitimacy of land records, the PDP-led government granted the building permission.
Fraud-after-fraud at government level, a single-bench of the High Court upheld the construction. The judiciary was seemingly misled to issue an order, which is legally challengeable but was never challenged. And here’s why all this happened during the present regime.
As per sources privy to a conversation between a senior minister in the PDP and the Shopian man, the two had allegedly discussed demand for party funds. “Chain Kam Gasi magar Mufti Sob chu wanan party funds,” the minister had allegedly said in 2015.
Sources said after getting to know that PDP minister has taken “party funds”, another concerned mantri ji from BJP also opted for: Behti ganga mein haath dhoona. The duo allegedly took “party funds” to the tune of few crores.
Did the ruling parties take funds or kickbacks is something for the investigative agencies to probe because Prime Minister Narendra Modi says na khawanuga na khanay dunga. But then there are numerous circumstantial evidences which logically prove the dalaali.
First and foremost there was a need to probe the legitimacy of the revenue records by a competent investigative agency no less than Crime Branch.
As per the Master Plan for Srinagar, there’s no scope for commercial construction at this virgin site, so how was the building permission granted?
The R&B had decided much-needed road widening on both sides of road towards Raj Bagh, but the widening was not picked up towards more congested side downstream where the construction is coming up.
This is because, by virtue of the road widening, the Ribbon Development Act would reduce the scope for building construction by atleast sixty feet in width.
How did R&B stay silent and allow construction that has ended any chances of vital road-widening or was the then Chief Engineer pressurized by his minister in 2015-16?
Moreover, building permission for such a site cannot be granted without mandatory UTEC clearance. The UTEC has members from all the concerned departments including R&B and Irrigation and Flood Control Department. So why didn’t the concerned departments object to the move?
If the then CM Ghulam Nabi Azad notified that site for Jhelum beautification, why did PDP change the iconic plan to benefit one particular funder? Why has Vigilance Organization of Kashmir been silent?
Many humbly ask if judiciary is working on some divine interventions (much the way it seemingly happened in case of former “encounter specialist” turned PDP’s undercover leader Ashiq Bukhari’s appointment as CEO JKCA) that no one is willing to legally challenge the court directives in higher courts?
Why? Why? Why? There are many “whys” which if dug up properly can take this case to the office of CBI.
But then Govt is silent on Srinagar’s strategic rape taken one step further.
Hope the honorable High Court takes suo-motto cognizance of the matter to keep the hope of justice alive or else history will remember this systematic rape of the summer capital as: Huin Khai Baste Khaller, Bastu Khaleri Khiov Hoon!
By Majid Hyderi
