JDA at liberty to proceed afresh against appellant by strictly adhering to procedure prescribed under BOCA Act – Special Tribunal
JAMMU : Special Tribunal, Jammu (Bench-II) has allowed the appeal filed by Mamta Singh wife of Dr. Nirmal Kumar Singh former Deputy CM and senior BJP leader wherein she had assailed order No. JDA/BOCA/A/1271-76 dated November, 8, 2021 issued under Section 7(3) of J&K Control of Building Operations Act, 1988 (COBO Act) by virtue of which the appellant Mamta Singh had been directed to remove the alleged illegal construction of the house raised by her at Village Ban, Tehsil Nagrota District Jammu.
While setting aside the impugned demolition notice on technical grounds, the Presiding Officer Rajeev Gupta observed and directed that the Building Operation Controlling Authority of JDA (BOCA) shall be at liberty to proceed afresh against appellant Mamta Singh for violation of the Building Bye-Laws by strictly adhering to the procedure prescribed under Section 7 of the J&K Control of Building Operations Act, 1988.
The advocate appearing for JDA however resisted the contentions of appellant and submitted that the area in question was included in the jurisdiction of the JDA vide SRO 388 dated August, 10, 1984 and since then it is being administered by the JDA and it was incumbent upon the appellant to have obtained permission from the JDA before commencement of the residential house. He further submitted that the area in question is described in Jammu Master Plan 2032 as vegetation and as such falls under agricultural land use and no residential construction is permissible in the said area. He further relied upon a Judgment of the Division Bench of the J&K High Court titled Zulfqar Ali V/s V.C. JDA & Ors wherein the Division Bench did not agree to the building permission given by BDO/Panchayat in an area under the jurisdiction of JDA as its local area.