October 03
SAJAD HAMEED
The Kashmiriyat has broken into yet another fraud , this time in North Kashmir’s famous hill resort, Gulmarg and appraised the issue with the Concerned authorities,
Under the grab of ‘renovation permission’, a hotelier has started raising a structure at Gulmarg tourist resort, Our Journalist reached the spot and captured the Photographs and videos of the construction work being carried out by the hotelier in violations of norms.
The hotelier, who owns a chain of hotels across Jammu Kashmir and in India too had purchased a hut in Gulmarg few months ago, Sources told The Kashmiriyat.
They said the hotelier later got permission from Gulmarg Development Authority for renovating it. However, as visible from the photographs, he is now misusing the same permission for converting the hut into a hotel.
“The existing hut has only five rooms. But now under the grab of renovation permission the hotelier wants to convert it into a hotel. He has already raised a column structure adjacent to the existing hut,” the photographs reveal.
Sources speaking to The Kashmiriyat alleged that officials and enforcement wing of Gulmarg Development Authority acted as mute spectators till the hotelier raised construction illegally.
The Kashmiriyat appraised the issue with the Chief Executive Officer Gulmarg Development Authority, Haneef Balki who claimed that the hotelier has not constructed a new structure, but is renovating the old one.
He said, “We have conveyed him to stop the work. Tomorrow me and my engineering team will visit the spot and assess the situation after which further course of action will be decided.”
The CEO said that hotelier was allowed to renovate the structure by GDA after following the proper procedure.
He however admitted that the hotelier has damaged a patch of land near the structure.
In 2015, The Jammu Kashmir High imposed a ban on construction at Gulmarg and directed authorities to stop construction activities and also directed the police to seize the vehicles carrying construction material to the resort.