Panic has gripped residents of Indira Nagar area here and its adjoining areas as the Badami Bagh Cantonment Board with the active support of army has decided to strictly implement the SRO-96 that bars construction within 500 yards from Field Ordinance Depot (FoD) of army.
While as the Board officials frequently visit the area to ask people not to raise height of their houses or hotels under construction, soldiers too have allegedly been profiling local residents resulting in their harassment.
Irked by alleged harassment by the Board and soldiers, many residents have decided to write to the Board to buy their properties as per market prices so that they can migrate to safer areas.
The FoD is a major ammunition dump whose boundary walls are spread to a vast area from Indira Nagar to Gupkar road.
According to an official document regarding a meeting held by the Cantonment Board on 17 January this year, it was decided to implement the SRO-96 dated 2 May, 2004 which bars construction of all kinds within the 500 yards from 2 FOD wall.
“No construction, plantation or placing of material that obstructs the view be permitted up to 50 meter of the parameter walls of Badamibagh Cantonment in areas other than 2 FoD,” reads the copy of minutes of the meeting, a copy of which is with Greater Kashmir.
It says that the top floor of buildings other than ground floor should have no windows, doors, openings towards military zone.
“The SRO is very old and the guidelines for constructions are also outdated. The January meeting discussed to implement the guidelines in letter and spirit to ensure there is no security breach as army establishment lies closer to local population,” said an official of the Board. “We are just informing the locals not to violate the SRO as we received reports of some construction going on in violation of SRO.”
The Board official said that majority of people had been abiding by the set norms by the Board, but off late there have been some complaints which are against the rules.
The areas that include Indira Nagar, Shivpora, Batwara and Sonwar are under the direct control of Cantonment Board. Even the G B Panth children hospital too has dual control of J&K government and Cantonment Board.
“The problem is that we are Kashmiris and the second problem is we are under Cantonment Board. For everything, we have to seek permission of the Board as if we are their slaves,” said Abdul Aziz, a resident of Indira Nagar. “We can’t repair our houses; neither can we construct new houses. The direction of our doors and windows is being decided by the board. How strange is this?”
He said people of Indira Nagar have now decided to sell off their properties to the board against market price. “We will write to board to buy our homes against market rate. We will shift to some other location,” he said.
An elderly resident of Indira Nagar said everyday officials from the Board “harass” the residents on one or the other pretext. “Now soldiers too are supporting the Board. They come and seek details of every member of the house as we are aliens,” he said.
Defence Spokesman in Srinagar Colonel Rajesh Kalia said: “We don’t enter into anybody’s homes. No profiling is being done by the army.”
“During regular area domination patrolling of the perimeter wall of BB Cant, it was observed that some structures were touching the perimeter wall of the Cantonment or has been used as a part of the construction. This is illegal construction as per the laid down policy on the subject, and the owners have been asked to remove the unauthorised construction,” he said.
A source in the army said that since entire 15 Corps falls into a strategy army base category, there has to be a watch on the constructions of buildings and residential houses. “Cantonment Board is governed by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. So checking issues related to possible breach of security is its duty,” the source said.
Taking strong note of the “unnecessary intervention” by the Cantonment Board into the local affairs, MLA Sonwar, Muhammad Ashraf Mir, said that “why should people migrate, it’s time for the Board to migrate.” “Cantonment Board is a den of corruption. It should first clarify how many illegal permissions it has issued in lieu of kick-backs,” Mir said. “It’s time for the Board to quit and the government will take care of the problems of people.”