Govt ‘ignoring’ house owners, facilitating investors from outside

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 14

The newly constituted 33-member executive committee of the Sayunkt Sangharsh Samiti (SSS), comprising the house owners of the capital city, has accused the Jai Ram Thakur government of facilitating investors from outside and pushing the “one time settlement policy” for house owners to the backburner in the last 17 months.

The committee will meet on Monday and seek a clear cut reply from the government on the issues of regularisation of houses and ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal in November 2017 on construction in the core areas of the city.

The house owners from the core area, merged areas and green areas of the city, including former Mayor, councillors and sitting and former councillors and members of the Shimla Hotels and Restaurant Association and property developers have joined hands under the SSS, constituted on Saturday at the Kalibari Hall after the house owners convened their general house there.

The government in its 17-month rule did nothing for the house owners of the state, they charged.

The government constituted a Cabinet sub-committee under IPH Minister Mahender Singh Thakur a few days ago to facilitate business interest of some minister and private entrepreneurs, who were eyeing resorts in and around Shimla, Manali and Dharamsala. There is a move to take out certain key areas in and around these towns from the preview of the Town and Country Planning Act to facilitate them, they charged.

Director Urban Development RK Gautam said the department had not received the copy of notification so far. “We are not aware about the ‘term of reference’ of the sub-committee, but there are village areas, where residents do not want to be included under the TCP Act,” he said.

“The state government has pushed the long pending issues of the house owners of the city under the carpet without implementing any pragmatic policy to give one-time relief to the house owners of the city and merged areas,” said convener, SSS, Govind Chatranta.

“The sub-committee should make its term of reference public. The SSS committee will chalk out a concrete action plan tomorrow,” he said.

Former Mayor Sanjay Chauhan said the present government was forcing the house owners out of the hill towns by getting them involved in court cases. “On the other hand, the government is working overtime to bring in big builders and entrepreneurs in the hill towns for building resorts and golf courses in areas from where the TCP Act is being withdrawn,” he said.

Chatranta said the government had not addressed the issue of the NGT ban on construction in the core and green areas of the city. The Cabinet sub-committee should seek feedback from all stakeholders, who have built their houses over the years, but they are being denied basic fundamental amenities guaranteed in the constitution, the members said.