MAPOver a dozen illegal construction cases likely to be
registered in Jammu/Srinagar shortly, says Munir Khan
STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Three Building Inspectors of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), booked on the charges of allowing, facilitating and constructing illegal residential and commercial buildings in Srinagar by taking undue advantage of post in the wake of September-2014 flood situation, were arrested on Thursday afternoon while a Ward Officer went underground.
Director State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) Munir Khan said, the alert Vigilance sleuths arrested three Building Inspectors, who had taken refuge at their relatives’ houses in the Valley. In all, five arrests have been made in this case.
Searches conducted in their respective offices have revealed their involvement in allowing and facilitating illegal constructions, said Khan, adding “We have received numerous complaints of illegal construction across the Valley as well as in Jammu City.”
“Preliminary investigations are at final stage in at least over a dozen illegal construction cases in Srinagar and Jammu cities,” said Khan, adding, “violation of rules and regulations are a clear cut case of corruption and it is the job of the SVO to act on.”
“I am personally monitoring complaints with regard to all the illegal constructions which are under investigations and many of them are half proved as evidences are on ground,” said Director SVO.
“Shortly I am going to form a complaint cell to be supervised by officers of integrity to bifurcate the fake and genuine complaints”, he added.
“People generally forward fake complaints which waste the time of Investigating Officers and this ultimately gives relief to the genuine law offenders”, said Khan, adding “We have expedited the process of investigations using technology and digitalisation to reach the conclusions.”
Moreover the cases pending for Challan have been opened and directions have been given to complete the investigations within days.
The accused in the SMC case have been identified as Nazir Ahmad Azad, Aijaz Ahmad Thakur and Irfan Hussain Mir. Yesterday, two ward officers Shakeel Ahmad Sheikh, son of Gh. Ahmad, resident of Gundabal Andergam, Pattan and Mohammad Yousuf Qazi, son of Ghulam Hussain Qazi, resident of Waterwani Budgam were arrested. Ward Officer Showkat Ahmad Zargar is still absconding. The State Vigilance Organisation (SVO) has registered FIR against Ward Officers and Building Inspectors in addition to beneficiaries and other staff members of SMC.
The verification conducted by the SVO sleuths revealed that officers /officials of Ward No. 28 (Batamaloo), Srinagar Municipal Corporation, in conspiracy with the beneficiaries and by way of abuse of their official positions facilitated/allowed raising of illegal and unauthorized constructions/structures in Firdous Abad, Moomin Abad, Maharajipora Tengpora Bypass and Court Road Areas of the aforesaid ward.
The beneficiaries include Ali Mohammad Bangroo, son of Ghulam Qadir, resident of Chinnar Colony Parraypora (M/s Rehbar Steels at Tengpora Bypass). The accused officers allowed him to construct a structure 42×112 of CGI- Sheets on RCC plinth.
Mohammad Ayoub Dar, Ghulam Nabi Dar, Bashir Ahmad Dar and Mohammad Amin Dar, all sons of late Abdul Ahad Dar, resident of Firduous Abad Srinagar constructed a single storey structure with four shops and stair. Ghulam Nabi Dar, son of Ghulam Rasool Dar, resident of Moominabad Tengpora (M/s New Dar Traders) constructed a single storey shopping complex behind his already constructed old shopping complex and Mehrajudin Sofi, son of Ghulam Mohammad Sofi, resident of Tengpora bypass (M/s Sofi Poultry) constructed a single storey structure having five rooms.
All these structures have been constructed in violation of the building laws and regulations as in vague and have thereby caused huge loss to the state exchequer as no fee has been paid by the beneficiaries and no process has been undertaken for obtaining the permissions from the competent authorities with respect to this illegal structures.
FIR 5/2017 under section 5(1) ( d) read with 5(2) J&K Prevention of Corruption Act Svt. 2006 , Section 120-B, and Section 109 RPC has been registered and the investigations have been set in motion. More arrests will be made in coming days, said Director Khan.
