Former J&K deputy CM asked to demolish his bungalow near Army site within five days
The Jammu Development Authority said the building was constructed without permission. Singh, however, claimed a ‘jihadi group’ was after him.
The Jammu Development Authority has asked senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nirmal Singh and his wife Mamta Singh to demolish their bungalow near an Army ammunition depot in Nagrota area within five days, PTI reported on Wednesday.
In its order of demolition, dated November 8, the Jammu Development Authority said the building had been constructed without attaining the valid permission of officials.
“If you fail to remove the illegal construction within the stipulated period of time, the same shall be demolished by the enforcement wing of JDA and cost of removal shall be recovered from you as arrears of land revenue,” the order said.
Last year, the former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister had shifted to the palatial bungalow with his family. The move came even as the High Court had in May 2018 directed the authorities to ensure “strict implementation” of a 2015 notification prohibiting any construction within 1,000 yards of defence works.
The Centre had filed two petitions before the High Court, raising security and safety concern because of the building’s proximity to the ammunition depot. But officials in Jammu had failed to stop the construction of Nirmal Singh’s home.
In 2018, the Nagrota-based 16 Corps headquarters of the Army had flagged that the building was a “potential safety hazard”.
Nirmal Singh told The Indian Express on Wednesday that he will challenge the demolition order in court. Reiterating his earlier claims, he said that the case was politically motivated.
“There are thousands of houses being constructed in Jammu even today, but a jihadi group has been after me,” the BJP leader claimed. “They don’t look at Bathindi, how the houses of [National Conference leaders] Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah have come up there. There should be rule of law, but why am I being singled out?’’
On September 26, the Jammu and Kashmir administration accused Nirmal Singh of illegally constructing the bungalow in response to an Right to Information query from an advocate Muzaffar Ali Shan, The Indian Express reported.