Srinagar, Dec 2: The Enforcement wing of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) seems to have found a novel method to give free hand to illegal constructions in the City, which has witnessed brazen violations of the Master Plan in the past over 20 years while the government claims to be enforcing strict norms.

THE MODUS-OPERANDI
 No sooner the SMC Commissioner Dr GN Qasba concludes surprise inspection of some particular area, and even directs for strict action against violations, illegal constructions are taken up on full swing.
 This is the scene, which has been witnessed in various areas of Srinagar, for the past few months. One such area is Soura and its adjoining Dr Ali Jan Road.
 Over a month back, the SMC Commissioner during a surprise inspection of the area discovered some constructions, which were coming up illegally. This raises a simple question: If the constructions were going on, what was the Enforcement wing of the SMC doing? 
 Official documents reveal that while some of the accused staffers were placed under suspension, others were transferred post the top brass visit.

ACTING SHOCKING
 The surprise inspection was expected to serve a deterrent. But what happened was exactly the opposite. “Hoping that given the tight schedule, Commissioner Sahib would not visit the area again at least for around a month, the blacksheep got active and allowed illegal constructions to come up at full swing,” said an insider.
 The violations have been brazen. Several commercial structures have come up in the area, including shops at many places.
 “In green belt patches residential houses are coming up whereas in   residential areas commercial establishments are coming up,” said a delegation of Soura residents.

BLESSING IN DISGUISE
 Sources said Commissioner’s surprise visits have come up as a blessing in disguise for the Enforcement wing which “manages its game plan accordingly.”
 For the past few months several complaints have been popping up with regard to the illegal constructions while the SMC in most of the cases acted only when the Commissioner himself went out for inspections.
 Eyebrows are being raised over the working of the Enforcement wing of the civic body which seemingly doesn’t take any action of its own. But Soura violations are not any exception. The concerns of this historic City where Master Plan violations have been rampant in the past around a decade are bigger. (To be concluded)

Lastupdate on : Sun, 2 Dec 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 2 Dec 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 3 Dec 2012 00:00:00 IST