Suresh Bhardwaj: Affected residents of Shimla by NGT order still out of SDP

Shimla, Feb 8(UNI) Approximately 9200 residents living in Shimla Merged area of Shimla MC and thousands of houses yet to be regulated under Shimla Development Plan area would not be covered by the new draft of Shimla Development plan unveiled here Tuesday, the concerned ministers told UNI. Urban Development Minister of Himachal Pradesh Suresh Bhardwaj said that 9200 house and plot owners who have submitted their papers to Shimla MC and TCP under a onetime retention policy brought by Virbhadra Singh Government in 2016-17 could not be covered under the ambit of NGT order. He said that all the constructions carried out under Shimla MC which is pending for the approval of MC and TCP would be regulated by the Jai Ram Government as a similar move to regularize the old construction is being planned in the state and is likely to be announced soon. Minister announced that NGT passed an order in November 2017 which restricted the construction in the core area, identified residential green area and included in the interim development plan in 2002. This NGT order led to haphazard constructions. He said that due to it not gaining finality the Shimla Interim Development plan came in existence in 1979 as it could not be ascertained that which zone should be marked for which activity. He said that Britishers after making Shimla the summer capital of the imperial power, also constructed the city on the basis of development plan. However later after it became the state capital people decided to built their homes here in large numbers. National Green tribunal coming in the existence (2010) which passed number of orders but the construction activities mainly affected in its order passed in 2017 fall in the Shimla Plan area. Order was also passed by the High court to affect the construction activities in Shimla planning area. Minister said that an appeal or SLP is pending before the Supreme Court to make the NGT order of 2017 baring the construction activities in SPA null and void. He said that in five years state Government has engaged with the SPA to bring the new development plan for Shimla Urban Development and Town and Country planning is also proposing similar development plan in other areas of state and a development draft would be released subsequently with the completion of this process. The state government is trying to provide the benefit of development plan in Shimla and other parts of the state by making parties and stakeholders in the wide consultations to draft such a plan to address people centric issues. Replying to queries regarding the legal status of Shimla Development plan in view of litigation in the courts Minister said that State could come out with the development plan and NGT is not to govern the planning areas for being quasi judicial bodies and could pass order according to its constitutional mandate. Will the government complete the development plan of Shimla in the wake of the upcoming Shimla MC and Assembly elections this year the Minister evaded the query stating that government had shown guts to come up with the development plan which no government in state in last four decades could finalized including four BJP governments. Jai Ram Government become the first government which drafted the Shimla Development plan in the last four years however it is fact that it falls in the election year but State cabinet is committed to completing the tedious process after a month of public objections, he claimed. He urged the people of the town to give their suggestions and objections to join the process and they could demand more floors being proposed in the draft of SDP as the government is free to consider them weighing the stake and concern of people affected by this order He said that construction being regulated to one, two, three and four floors keeping with presence of plot in the core, green, heritage planning area of Shimla town and size of the plots however bylaws in the outside three years would be kept more open.