Public hearing for owners of illegal buildings near airbase

Source: tribuneindia.com

The Mohali Administration will now give a public hearing to the owners of structures in the periphery of the Chandigarh Air Force Station that were identified illegal and earmarked for immediate demolition.Following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court earlier this year, as many as 98 structures that had come up within 100 metres of the airbase’s boundary after March 2011 were to be razed without compensation as they violated safety norms. Last month, the administration issued demolition notices to the owners, giving them 15 days time to submit any claims or objections.

“The owners of the structures had approached the administration and in public interest we have decided to give them a chance to submit their viewpoint on the issue,” Mohali Deputy Commissioner Girish Dayalan said. “The hearings will be done publically in the court of the district collector from tomorrow,” he added.A government notification issued in January 2010 stipulates that no building/structure is to be constructed or any tree planted within 100 metres of the outer boundary of the air force station. The local administration, which had identified 347 structures that have come over a period of time within 100 metres of the air force station’s boundary wall, had also issued a public notice to this effect in March 2011. These structures include mainly houses, shops and godowns.

While the structures that have come up after the March 2011 public notice face immediate demolition, the high court will take a call on the matter pertaining to those built before this date.

Earlier, the high court had constituted a committee headed by the Punjab Chief Secretary to examine the status of illegal constructions within 100 metres of the boundary wall of the air force station. The committee had categorised the structures — those that were constructed till August 28, 2008, the date of issue of an earlier notification that specified 900 metres as the restricted zone, those that were built from August 28, 2008, to March 9, 2011, and those that came up after March 9, 2011.

While the owners of the structures that were built before August 28, 2008, will be eligible to claim compensation, the high court will decide on whether or not to give compensation to owners who raised their structures between August 28, 2008 and March 9, 2011.