JMC yet again makes mockery of notice under section 253 (1) JMC Act 2000 served to owner of residential plot 66/5 ,Ward-50 Channi Himmat wherein serves 48 hours ultimatum to owner to remove violations dated 14-10-2024 but without taking follow-up action against owner approves fresh site plan dated 28-11-2024 when existing violations were not removed by owner after giving written undertaking and further construction of two floors started

Owner was also asked to submit written undertaking on affidavit dated 27-11-2024 that he would demolish the violated portion of existing basement, ground floor before start of fresh construction and also put partition walls on existing ground floor and the violated portion including violations towards left side and backside to be demolished by owner was categorically marked in green colour but surprisingly the drawing in proposed site plan was missing as there was no mention of drawing room, stairs and lift when infact there were two shops towards backside. Anyway the owner didn’t demolish existing violations on basement and ground floor and started further construction of first floor on existing violated basement and ground floor
GY CORRESPONDENT
jammu, dec 25
One Satpal Khajuria s/o Charan Dass r/o 28-A Extension, Gandhi Nagar got allotted another corner residential plot 66/5 measuring 40×80 (3200 Sqft ) on main road of Channi Himmat Housing Board colony, Ward-50 from Housing Board on 21-4-1988 and in the year 2010-2011 constructed violated basement and violated commercial ground floor with two shops in the backside towards internal road which was to kept open without any walls partition and actually a commercial hall on RCC Pillars without stairs and lift provision in the middle of commercial hall besides also extending gallery 2.5 ft towards right side on internal road measuring nearly 2500 Sqft ground floor commercial against earlier permitted 1760 Sqft without maintaining mandatory setbacks against then prevalent Jammu Master Plan 2021 by leaving backside 3 ft against 10 ft and constructed two shops, Side-1 was completely covered under construction which was to be left nearly 6.5 ft and constructed porch towards 65/5 residential plot and raised stairs going through porch area. But JMC didn’t take any action against owner and remained mum on serious nature violations. The owner also managed to get free hold rights from Housing Board vide JKHB Order No.201 of 2018 dated 13-7-2018 after paying Rs 64000 as fee when there was commercial construction on residential plot.
The owner meanwhile after nearly 14 years applied for further construction of two more floors on existing violated ground floor under application No. JMC/2024/7596 dated 18-4-2024 seeking existing modified ground floor. As per proposed site plan prepared by Architect Ojasvi Sharma CA/2022/153444, the owner was to construct porch as existing towards front side , drawing room. Lobby/living room, bedroom with toilet, kitchen with dining room and managed to get NOCs from concerned govt departments on the basis of this proposed site plan. Surprisingly the owner without waiting for approval of site plan for two more floors when NOCs were being gathered from concerned Govt departments, the owner on his own with the help of enforcement staff led by Enforcement Officer Anil Kashyap deployed in Channi Himmat area started construction of first floor on 16-8-2024 on existing violated structure and reached upto slab work level on RCC pillars absolutely at par with exiting violated ground floor
When JMC enforcement staff failed to take befitting action as per JMC Act 2000 aggrieved locals along with pictures of violated construction indicating completely commercial ground floor without any internal partitions like bed room, kitchen, lobby, dining room, toilet on the basis of which the owner managed to get NOCs from concerned Govt departments including Housing Board dated 25-5-2024 approached this office with relevant details and taking serious cognizance of this thoroughly investigated claims of aggrieved locals and published a detailed story along with pictures dated 21-9-2024 when shuttering work was going on and well in time informed JMC that in couple of days slab work will be completed. But the concerned Enforcement Officer when asked about status of ongoing construction as per JMC record, he replied that the ongoing construction has been stopped by him and when further asked whether any notice has been served to owner, he told that no notice has been served and verbally ongoing violated construction has been stopped.It deserves mentioning here that when a RTI application dated 22-8-2024 filed seeking photocopy of approved site plan for further construction of two floors in favour of Satpal Khajuria owner of residential plot 66/5, Cahnni Himmat, the Senior town planner JMC vide letter No. JMC/RTI/BS/224-226 dated 6-9-2024 categorically said that as per JMC records no building permission has been sanctioned in favour of Satpal Khajuria.
However after publishing of story that ongoing commercial construction at residential plot 66/5 is being raised without valid permission of JMC, Dy Commissioner South JMC vide No. JMC/DC (S)/Enf/251-54 dated 14-10-2024 served owner notice under provision of section 253(1) of JMC Act 2000 claiming that the owner has carried out construction work on 1st floor without valid permission from JMC and without following norms and observing setbacks as per Unified Building Bye-laws 2021 and JMP-2032 and also violations in pictures of violated construction serving owner 48 hours ultimatum to reply to this notice as to why not action under section 253 is taken against him under JMC Act 2000. The owner didn’t reply to this notice within 48 hours and infect in active connivance with concerned JMC officials hatched a conspiracy that proposed site plan file under application No. JMC/2024/7596 dated 18-4-2024 on the basis of which NOCs were sanctioned is missing. But surprisingly JMC didn’t take any follow-up action after serving owner notice under Section 253 when owner didn’t reply within 48 hours and on the basis of this notice, JMC was duty bound to demolish violated structure raised without JMC permission.
As usual , JMC in order to save violated construction instead of taking action against owner rather suggested owner to apply fresh site plan following which the owner applied for fresh site plan vide application No. JMC/2024/8534 dated 27-10-2024 and Building section team led by draftsman Kapil Khajuria visited the site and recommended further construction after recommending existing violated construction on ground floor as per norms completely ignoring existing violations of serious nature after shaking hands with owner to secure his existing violated construction and also allowing further construction against JMP-2032 and Unified Building Bye-laws 2021.
On the recommendations of Kapil Khajuria, Senior Town Planner JMC Manoj Kumar who along with Khajuria are chips of same block ignoring existing violations accordingly fresh site plan was approved in favour of owner vide No.813/JMC/BS/2024-25 dated 28-11-2024 without mentioning area whether in sqm or sqft allowing owner existing as per the norms basement-1 residential measuring 45.2 NA, existing as per norms ground floor residential 29.22 NA, new floor residential measuring 163 NA, new floor 2nd residential 163 NA. The owner was mandatory to observe setbacks including front 4.84 mtr, Rear-3.55 mtr and Side-1, 2 mtr (left side).The height of building was fixed 10.38 mtr from front road level and accordingly paid Rs 51095 as building fee residential.
It deserves mentioning here that the owner was also asked to submit written undertaking on affidavit dated 27-11-2024 that he would demolish the violated portion of existing basement, ground floor before start of fresh construction and also put partition walls on existing ground floor and the violated portion including violations towards left side and backside to be demolished by owner was categorically marked in green colour but surprisingly the drawing in proposed site plan was missing as there was no mention of drawing room, stairs and lift when infact there were two shops towards backside. Anyway the owner didn’t demolish existing violations on basement and ground floor and started further construction of first floor on existing violated basement and ground floor.
In spite of serious violations as mentioned above, JMC enforcement staff didn’t take action against owner as per JMC Act 2000 , the owner not only completed slab work on first floor on 4-12-2024 but also started construction of 2nd floor on RCC pillars at par with existing violated ground and first floor. Not only this the owner also changed dimensions to pave way for full-fledged commercial hall and now raising stairs towards front side along with lift provision which was not sanctioned as per approved site plan.
Worthwhile to mention here that in case of residential plot 66/5, the owner was allowed residential basement and also why serious violations on basement and ground floor were ignored by Kapil Khajuria when owner himself submitted written undertaking that before starting fresh construction he would demolish existing violations which were not demolished by owner and started further construction of first floor before getting site plan from JMC. Further how residential basement was allowed to owner when as per Unified Building Bye-laws 2021 under 5.2.1.7 , no habitable use shall be permitted in the basement which clearly means that site plan was wrongly approved as Channi Himmat Housing Board colony being Zonal Planned colony and also the existing construction being in a single row, no basement can be allowed as per JMP-2032 and Unified Building Byelaws 2021
Anyway despite making every possible efforts to awake JMC to take cognizance of ongoing violated construction, nothing substantial was done at the site and as a result of which with all exiting violations intact, the slab work on first floor completed on 4-12-2024. But JMC enforcement staff can’t shun their responsibility as it was their statutory duty to ensure demolition of violations after owner submitted written undertaking that before start of fresh construction he would demolish existing violations which was not done.JMC Commissioner should put to task concerned enforcement staff who are habitual of shielding unauthorized constructions by not reporting the violations at the initial stage and working against the guidelines of JMP-2032 and Unified Building Bye-laws 2021. Further Commissioner JMC should also take serious cognizance of site plans being approved now days contrary to guidelines of JMP-2032 and Unified Building Bye-laws 2021 as despite present site plan was approved conditionally which were not fulfilled by owner and continuously allowed violated construction.