Srinagar, Nov 16: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on Wednesday directed the Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) to file an affidavit in compliance of the directions passed regarding re-examining the area of the buffer zones around Dal Lake and building permission in accordance with new Master Plan 2035.
A division bench comprising of Chief Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul directed the Principal Secretary, H&UD to file an affidavit in compliance of the directions passed by the court on September, 08 and November, 09 this year.
The court also directed the Vice Chairman, J&K Lakes Conservation & Management Authority (LCMA) Srinagar, to file the responses to the applications and writ petitions seeking direction for grant of permission for construction in accordance with the Master Plan and the applicable law.
“The replies/ responses shall be filed in advance of the next date with a copy to the other side,” the court said while fixing the matter for hearing on November, 28.
In previous hearings, the court had directed the Advocate General, D.C Raina to take appropriate steps to get the area of the buffer zones around Dal Lake be re-examined by the State authorities.
The Advocate General submitted before the court that the respondents are in the process of implementing the order and shall be submitting the responses so as to enable the court to decide the applications or writ petitions seeking directions for grant of permission in terms of the Master Plan 2035.
The court passed the directions after an application filed by the Vice Chairman, LCMA, seeking extension of time for deciding the applications for grant of permission for construction purposes.
However, the counsel appearing for the applicants and writ petitioners resisted and submitted that the order passed by the Court on July 19, 2002 was not based on an expert advice and the same was passed only on the basis of the submissions made by the amicus and other counsels who had placed their views before the Court.
The petitioner counsel submitted that today the court has a document in the shape of the Master Plan which is in tune with the scheme of the law notified by the government after having associated and discussed the Master Plan with the people of all shades including traders, public representatives, common citizens, hotel associations etc.
It was submitted that the Master Plan has been notified only after all the concerned agencies including the Town Planning Organization, Srinagar Development Authority, the experts dealing with the construction activities in the cities, the experts dealing with the sustainable and economically empowered growth of the city and the experts from other fields were associated which is evident from the preface of the Master Plan, 2035 notified on February,13, 2019.
In terms of the order passed by it on July, 19, 2002, it was directed that no construction work or even carrying of building material in and around the 200 meters from the centre of the foreshore road be allowed.
The only exception provided by the court was for the purposes of grant of permission for repairs and renovations of the existing buildings falling within 200 meters from the centre of the foreshore road.
The Master Plan 2035 relaxes the 200 meters limit by defining buffer zones from 20 to 100 meters from the periphery of the concerned water body depending upon the area concerned.
The manner of utilization of the land in the buffer zone is categorized as for purposes of gardens and parks in the Master Plan 2035.
The court, while accepting the implementation of the Master Plan with respect to other water bodies, had clarified that prohibition on construction contained in the order dated July, 19, 2002 would stand modified to the extent that the prohibition would apply in terms of the distances/ buffer zones identified by the Master Plan itself.
The court noted that before considering the applications/ writ petitions seeking directions upon the Building Permission Authorities to grant permission in tune with the scheme of the Master Plan, 2035, it was important to have a response from the respondents.
Accordingly, in terms of the order passed on September 08, 2022, the court had directed the respondents through Advocate General to make appropriate steps to submit the response so as to enable the court to proceed further in the matter.
The court was hearing a batch of applications and writ petitions seeking directions upon the respondents for grant of permissions to raise constructions around the Dal Lake in accordance with the Master Plan 2035 notified February, 13, 2019 by the government, after the necessary approval was accorded by the State Administrative Council (SAC) on the recommendations of the Committee
