JMC’s no action over construction of ground floor commercial with three shops towards front side in garb of windows at residential plot 360/7 Channi Himmat Ward-50 against approved residential approved site plan results in construction of equal size first floor whose slab work completed on 4-9-2024 covering 1500 Sqft area against permitted 851 Sqft without maintaining setbacks and also extending three ft galleries against JMP-2032 and Unified Building Bye-laws 2021

As per approved residential site plan, the owner didn’t construct Porch towards left side measuring 3.7 mtr wide, kitchen measuring 1.9 mtr x 3.0 mtr in middle and towards right side dining room measuring 2.7 mtr x 3.0 mtr towards front side ,Lobby measuring 3.3 mtr x 5.1 mtr, Bed room 3.7 mtr x 3.0 mtr with toilet 1.5 mtr x 2.5 mtr and infact constructed full-fledged commercial hall without any brick walls partitions besides lift provision from backside
The owner left meager 5 ft from front side and extended three ft gallery as well when he was duty bound to leave 5.98 mtr (20 ft) from front side and also from rear side the owner was to leave 2.13 mtr( 7 ft) but left 3 ft with three ft gallery and also kept lift provision from backside and didn’t raise stairs as per approved site plan and infact raise commercial hall. But sadly despite bringing the same into kind notice of enforcement staff, nothing was done in this regard
GY CORRESPONDENT
jammu, sep 04
It seems bizarre but it is hard reality that whole of JMC enforcement staff only recognizes Gandhi Ji’s paper picture but doesn’t follow his ideology at all and it would not be wrong to say that might is right prevails in functioning of JMC as once you take into confidence of JMC enforcement staff into confidence showing them Gandhi Ji, you are free to raise commercial construction as per approved residential site plans as they in most of cases don’t report violations well in time before higher authorities concerned and hence in most cases befitting action is delayed to such an extent that action most often is taken when violated structure reaches completion level. Jammu Municipal Corporation neither performs its duty nor it acts on complaints of whistle blowers and Social/RTI Activists resulting in steep rise in violated constructions within Municipal areas and particularly in Zonal planned Housing Board colony Channi Himmat Jammu. The enforcement staff has been extending all sort of patronage to potential violators in Channi Himmat area resulting in boom in commercial construction from residential plots after getting site plan approved as residential and depositing building fee as residential causing serious loss to JMC exchequer besides openly making land use change and most importantly all this is done by badly damaging spirit of JMP-2032 and Unified Building Bye-laws 2021. Sadly Dy Commissioner South who is incharge Enforcement Section in Channi Himmat area has been so far proved highly ineffective to curve ongoing violated construction in Channi Himmat area as instead of monitoring and cross-checking field enforcement staff infact bracing them as he is also one of the beneficiaries of these violated construction in the area
To put the things in right perspective, one Archana Gupta wife of Rajinder Kumar Gupta r/o 159-A, Nai Basti, Jammu purchased a residential plot 360/7 measuring 30×55 (1650 Sqft) ,Ward-50 on main road of Channi Himmat from original alottee Asha Seth wife of Late Sanjay Seth r/o 126/B, Sector-1, Lane-9, Nanak Nagar Jammu costing worth crores. The same got registered on her name in court of law dated 11-3-2023.The owner after getting possession of residential plot 360/7 measuring 30×55 Sqft applied for approval of residential site plan from JMC vide application No. JMC/2023/5598 dated 6-7-2023 for ground floor only and same approved in her favour vide No. 1964/JMC/BS/2023-24 dated 15-3-2024 allowing ground floor residential only measuring 79.08 sqm (851 Sqft) against total plot area 1650 Sqft. The owner was duty bound to observe setbacks including front 5.98 mtr, rear 2.13 mtr and height of ground floor 3.5 mtr from front road level and accordingly paid building fee for permitted construction area Rs 16326 dated 6-2-2024 with open area 74.10 Sqm ( 798 Sqft) front and back . According to approved residential site plan, the owner was allowed to construct porch, kitchen and drawing room from front side and also lobby toilet and bedroom.
However the owner after getting residential site plan approved from JMC in the month of May 2024 started commercial hall construction without maintaining setbacks absolutely contrary to residential approved site plan by covering nearly 90% (1500 Sqft) plot area as there is no construction of Porch towards left side measuring 3.7 mtr wide, kitchen measuring 1.9 mtr x 3.0 mtr in middle and towards right side dining room measuring 2.7 mtr x 3.0 mtr towards front side ,Lobby measuring 3.3 mtr x 5.1 mtr, Bed room 3.7 mtr x 3.0 mtr with toilet 1.5 mtr x 2.5 mtr were not constructed . But the owner hasn’t raised above mentioned construction and infact from glimpse of ongoing construction, there are no internal plinths visible and no internal walls raised, no windows and kept entry from middle which is no way a entry keeping in view its size when the entry was meant from porch side with walls when it was to be opened without walls measuring nearly 10×9 and actually put three shops towards front side measuring 10×9 which is quite visible in picture all in symmetry in a single straight line kept them above front road level by nearly 2 ft and was altogether commercial hall on RCC pillars besides extending gallery from front side by nearly 3 ft which was not at all allowed as per approved site plan. The owner also left meager 5 ft and extended three ft gallery as well when he was duty bound to leave 5.98 mtr (20 ft) from front side and also from rear side the owner was to leave 2.13 mtr( 7 ft) but left 3 ft with three ft gallery and also kept lift provision from backside and didn’t raise stairs as per approved site plan and infact raise commercial hall. But sadly despite bringing the same into kind notice of enforcement staff, nothing was done in this regard and instead of taking action against owner, enforcement staff extended every possible help to owner to raise commercial hall on ground floor without maintaining mandatory setbacks absolutely contrary to approved residential site plan by completely changing both internal and external dimensions. Surprisingly owner again applied for residential site plan vide application No. JMC/2024/7714 dated 9-5-2024 seeking ground plus two more floors but there was no mention of earlier approved site plan after raising ground floor commercial. It deserves mentioning here that except providing three floors all the setbacks and NOCs from concerned govt departments as approved in earlier approved residential site plan were kept and accepted and also it was bizarre to note that as per reports of Building officer/Surveyor dated 21-5-2024, the plot was shown vacant when there was construction of ground floor commercial after getting earlier site plan residential only. Anyhow the fresh site plan was approved vide No. 208/JMC/BS/2024-25 dated 13-6-2024 allowing owner ground floor 79.08 Sqm, ground and first floor 72.76 Sqm, height of building 10.75 mtr from front road level with setbacks including Front- 5.98 mtr, Rear-2.13 mtr and paid building fee for permitted construction area Rs 31968 dated 11-6-2024 but didn’t disclose what with building fee earlier deposited as per earlier approved site plan . Worthwhile to mention here that this newspaper published a detailed story with violations as mentioned above along with pictures dated 12-7-2024 when shuttering work was going on and it was expected that slab work will be completed in couple of days but concerned JMC enforcement staff didn’t take any action against owner and slab work completed on 16-7-2024. Thereafter owner rest assured by enforcement staff raised almost equal and similar structure on first floor measuring 1500 Sqft without maintaining setbacks whose slab work completed on 4-9-2024 but JMC enforcement staff led by Enforcement Officer Anil Kashyap and Enforcement Inspector Rattan Lal who is serving in place of Gagan Kumar who is not feeling well and last but not the least Dy Commissioner South (Enforcement Section) remained unmoved despite commercial construction raised by making open land use change absolutely contrary to approved residential site plan as the owner as per fresh approved site plan was duty bound to construct guest room and covered verandah with terrace and infact construct commercial hall almost similar to ground floor with extended galleries towards front side.
It is surprising to note that from the last one and half month, the commercial construction is going on but JMC enforcement staff particularly Enforcement Inspector Gagan Kumar and now Rattan Lal deputed in the area has not moved even an inch and openly allowing ongoing construction against approved site plan which is sheer breach of lease deeds of J&K Housing Board and also against spirit of JMP-2032 and Unified Building Bye-laws 2021 by making land use changes without prior permission of JDA.
In light of above, authorities concerned must review anti-violation rules to make it more effective. They should also make the punishment for violations more stringent and also guilty enforcement staff must be booked under JMC Act 2000 for allowing violated construction against Unified Building Bye-laws 2021 . Second, law enforcers concerned must be given an area he can easily manage with concerned higher-ups should take daily follow-up of their field visits particularly when visited sites where violated construction is going on. Enforcement staff should be strictly directed to maintain a daily diary report of violations and send daily reports to their reporting officer, who who then forward it to the authority concerned for befitting action against violators.