Rahul Sahai PHDCCI Jammu Raises Concerns and Seeks Resolution with JDA
14-05-2023: During a meeting between Rahul Sahai, the Chair of PHDCCI Jammu, and Shiv Kumar Gupta, the Vice Chairman of Jammu Development Authority (JDA), a range of topics were discussed. Rahul Sahai informed Gupta about the activities of PHDCCI in Jammu & Kashmir and across the country. He also highlighted the yearly PHDCCI Ambassadors meeting at the national level. Sahai emphasized that PHDCCI has been supporting various pragmatic initiatives by the UT of J & K and the Central Government for the economic, industrial, and overall development of J & K.
One of the issues raised by Rahul Sahai was the wrong land classification done in the master plan by the JDA. He pointed out that some areas and lands were wrongly classified into various colors such as green, red, blue, etc. Sahai further explained that the classification of certain areas as green, such as nurseries, orchards, open space, recreation, vegetation, and waterbody buffer, and the classification of others as red, such as public and semi-public, public utility, and slaughterhouses, was very confusing and not done in real-time. He mentioned that many people have certificates from the revenue department indicating that their land is classified as commercial land (Banjar Kadeem), but the JDA has classified it differently as a nursery or residential land. Sahai highlighted that the incorrect classification could lead to a direct loss of taxes and hinder development. He suggested opening a window to rectify these errors as soon as possible.
Rahul Sahai urged the Vice Chairman of JDA to expedite the process of starting online services in JDA. He mentioned that in 2018, a single file regarding the transfer of property required 101 signatures from JDA officers, and the transfer itself sometimes took up to a year.
Another issue raised by Sahai was the pending applications for a change of land use with the JDA. He informed Gupta that certain amendments were made to the J&K Unified Building Bye-Laws (UBBL) and officially published in the J&K Official Gazette on March 9, 2022. However, applications related to these amendments have been pending with the JDA for more than six months.
Rahul Sahai brought to the Vice Chairman’s attention the problem of properties within Jammu Municipal Limits but under the jurisdiction of JDA. For example, properties situated at Channi Bypass have received change of land use approval from the JDA, but the approval of maps is being forwarded to the defunct Urban Transport Environment Improvement Committee (UTEIC). This issue lacks clarity, and numerous applications are still pending.
To prevent the fraudulent selling of JDA lands, Rahul Sahai recommended demarcating all the JDA lands and installing proper boards to ensure that no unauthorized trading takes place.
Samar Dev Charak, the Co-Chair of PHDCCI, emphasized the need for the regularization of commercial plots. While residential plots have been regularized, no decision has been taken for commercial plots. Charak stressed the importance of streamlining and regularizing these plots promptly, citing areas like Apsara Road, Gandhi Nagar, Trikuta Nagar, and Channi.
Rahul Sahai also discussed issues related to the Transport Nagar in Jammu, which involved ongoing works under the Jammu Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (JMRDA) project executed by the JDA. He mentioned that the contractor was not meeting the project requirements and requested immediate inspection.
Sahai expressed concerns about the chaotic situation caused by the contractor starting work on one lane and then abruptly switching to another, leading to blocked roads and inconvenience for shopkeepers. He mentioned issues with the laying of tiles, excessive width of dividers resulting in encroachment, and inadequate road width. Sahai proposed a separate meeting involving the contractor
