JMC saves Dr Sanjeev Gupta’s three floors commercial structure at Quarter No. 299, Ward-28, Bakshi Nagar Jammu by incorrectly reducing violation well below 10% against nearly 90% violations and taking meager Rs 5565 as compounding fee when unauthorized structure deserves to be sealed or demolished

Owner was allowed three floors measuring 1049 Sqft with mandatory setbacks front- 15 ft, rear- 7 ft but owner constructed three equal floors measuring 1800 Sqft each covering hundred percent plot area without maintaining setbacks and extended 2.5 ft galleries on both main road side and back side making nearly 90% violations
JMC under public pressure served owner BOCA notice under section 7(1) but wrongly projected violations as 1124.2 Sqft against allowed 1049 Sqft each floor showing 7.16% violations on each floor with motive to keep violations well below 10 % to pave way for compounding of violations when at site there was almost 90% violations including galleries from both front and backside
Owner Dr Sanjeev Gupta an orthopedic doctor is all set to start clinic here when there is absolutely no parking available which will result in unnecessary traffic jams and create public nuisance when the approaching roads to this three floor building hardly managing two wheelers and four wheelers and with opening of clinic the available size of road will be fully covered
GY CORRESPONDENT
jammu, feb 01
The non-serious approach of JMC enforcement staff in the implementation of JMP-2032 and Unified Building Bye-laws 2021 is leading to mushrooming of unauthorized constructions especially commercial construction in residential areas of Housing Board Zonal Planned colonies. Even as the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) is claiming to act tough against the illegal constructions within its limits, several such constructions including deviation from approved sites plan have mushroomed across the city while the authorities act as mute spectators. There are several buildings which are coming up are commercial in nature and are totally against the norms; the issue has been brought into the notice of the concerned but to no avail. Unfortunately JMC Enforcement staff has badly failed to act against the majority of these cases. They are deliberately not acting against such violations across the city and are making sure that the constructions being carried out by people are in accordance with their choice without least caring about nature of permissions, whether residential or commercial site plans.
To put the things in perspective, Smt Payal Gupta wife of Dr Sanjeev Kumar Gupta r/o Bakshi Nagar got approved a site plan from JMC at Quarter No. 299, Ward-28 Bakshi Nagar Jammu adjoining Gurudwara road behind Govt Medical College Jammu. The existing area of this plot was 1800 Sqft (30×60) which was a corner plot. JMC approved site plan vide No. 864/JMC/BS/2021 dated 23-10-2021 allowed owner to construct three floors measuring 1049 Sqft with height of building from road level as 35 ft 9 inch with open area 751 Sqft and cut out area 91 sqft. The mandatory setbacks were front- 15 ft, rear- 7 ft and accordingly deposited building fee Rs 7339 and also deposited labour cess as Rs 37764 for permitted construction area. But thereafter the owner constructed three equal floors measuring 1800 Sqft each covering hundred percent plot area on each floor without maintaining setbacks and extended unauthorized 2.5 ft galleries on both main road and back side. However the locals affected by this construction complained before concerned officials of JMC as the owner didn’t maintain setbacks and also didn’t raise construction as per approved site plan including cut out with the help of Enforcement Inspector Sanjay Gandotra and Enforcement officer now retired Naresh Kumar under overall patronage of Sanjay Badyal BOCA incharge Bakshi Nagar area absolutely deviating from approved residential site plan making land use change from residential to commercial
However it deserves mentioning here that, when this commercial construction was going on in residential areas, locals strongly protested against this especially immediate neighbors whose ventilation and sunlight obstructed by owner by raising construction against well laid symmetry in the area and also against JMP-2032 and Unified Building Bye-laws 2021. Worthwhile to mention here that JMC under public pressure served owner BOCA notice under section 7(1) vide No. JMC/CEO/22/01/22 dated 31-1-2023 after nearly 13 months when three floors violated construction was almost ready. The violations projected by then Assistant Enforcement Officer Naresh Kumar wrongly projected violations claiming that the owner has raised three floors measuring 1124.2 Sqft against allowed 1049 Sqft each floor showing 7.16% violations on each floor. Moreover, it was wrongly projected that front and back setbacks were maintained by owner when the setbacks were not at all maintained by owner . This eyewash BOCA notice was purposefully served to owner as the motive of this notice was to keep violations well below 10 % to pave way for compounding of violations within jurisdiction of JMC power to compound violations and in no case the owner approach Tribunal foir compounding violations when at the site there was almost 90% violations including galleries from both front and backside besides not maintaining setbacks from front and backside.
The well laid plan on part of JMC enforcement staff in connivance with Dr Gupta soon matured when Dr Gupta as per directions of enforcement staff approached JMC with a plea that the violations at the site are well below 10% and hence violations be compounded. JMC which was already 100% inclined towards owner in no time Assistant Enforcement Officer vide No. JMC/CEO/552-54 dated 20-7-2023 asked Smt Payal Gupta to deposit compounding fee calculated by Building section and claiming that Building section recommended that as per UBBL-2021, the violations of the building is 3.71 and compounding fee of said violation is Rs 5565. Accordingly Smt Payal deposited compounding fee of Rs 5565 vide Receipt Voucher No. 3044 dated 21 July 2023 the very next day. Now three floors violated commercial structure with whitewash is almost ready to operate when the construction in question was deserved to be sealed or demolished as Dr Sanjeev Gupta an orthopedic doctor and a well known name in Medical fraternity is all set to start clinic here when there is absolutely no parking available which will result in unnecessary traffic jams and create public nuisance when the approaching roads to this three floor building hardly managing two wheelers and four wheelers and with opening of clinic the available size of road will be fully covered as those who will visit clinic will park their vehicles on road as there is no parking space even nearby in Bakshi Nagar and the same should be seriously taken by Commissioner JMC as the building in question has been raised against established norms failing which if these construction continues, then JMP-2032 and Unified Building Bye-laws 2021 will prove useless and meaningless. Several instances of open violations of approved site plans have been brought from time to time in kind notice of JMC authorities and that too from initial stage of violations but JMC enforcement staff rather than reporting violations to their higher authorities have managed violations at their own by embracing violators at the cost of serious damage to JMP-2032 and huge loss to Govt exchequer besides resulting in unplanned development in area. Jammu Municipal Corporation has badly failed in curbing unauthorized constructions despite bringing the same before the concerned authorities well in time by locals and also by Activists besides timely informing Enforcement staff deputed in the area at the initial stage of violation but staff instead of performing their duties have only helped and supported violators by getting handsomely paid by them.