Samba, June 02: Apni Party provincial president, Jammu and former minister S. Manjit Singh on Friday condemned the action of municipal authorities in Kathua in which they have demolished a three-floor commercial building for its alleged illegal construction.
In a statement here, the former minister said that the way civil administration and municipality have acted and punished the building owner and showroom owner was “unprecedented and against the constitutional rights of the people”.
“The incident has shocked all of us to the core as the people were left helpless with crores of rupees of liability on them and the complete destruction of the commercial structure which could have generated employment for local youth,” he said.
He appealed to the LG Manoj Singh for his intervention so that the government officials responsible for “acting senselessly” and “causing huge damage to the private property in the name of illegal construction (without permission)” should be punished.
He said the administration and municipality could have imposed a penalty or sealed the building till the owners clear their issues with the authorities and get permission. “However, the decision to demolish has further widened the gap between the LG administration and the people,” he said, adding that the people feel isolated in the absence of an elected government as no one listens to them.
“J&K should have its own government and therefore, the assembly elections should be announced as early as possible,” he said.
