Illegal constructions in Kasauli: Action initiated against erring public servants, HP tells SC

The Himachal Pradesh government Thursday told the Supreme Court that departmental action has been initiated against erring public servants who were posted in Kasauli when unauthorised constructions happened there.

The state government told a bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur that preliminary inquiry has been initiated against public servants, who were found to be negligent in performing their duties, and show cause notices were also issued to them.

The counsel appearing for the state said demolition of unauthorised constructions at several hotels and resorts in Kasauli have been done and the state was proceeding in accordance with the law for curbing such instances in future.

"We expect the state of Himachal Pradesh to conclude the inquiry at the earliest," said the bench, also comprising Justices S A Nazeer and Deepak Gupta.

The state also told the court that illegal constructions would be sealed for one year and if requisite permissions and regularisation are taken within this period, the unauthorised structures would be demolished.

The bench made it clear that unauthorised floor of a building cannot be regularised.

The state's counsel apologised to the bench about last hearing wherein a lawyer representing Himachal Pradesh had drawn the attention of the court to the fact that wife of an apex court judge, who is hearing the matter, had filed a plea in the state's high court on encroachment of forest land.

Senior advocate P S Patwalia, assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter, referred to a recent order passed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Kasauli matter.

Referring to one of the directions passed by the NGT regarding regularisation of unauthorised structures, Patwalia said this cannot be done since a report filed before the tribunal had said that holding capacity of Kasauli has already crossed the limit.

The amicus said that NGT's direction virtually nullifies the earlier directions given by the apex court as well as the orders passed by the Himachal Pradesh High Court in the matter related to Kasauli.

However, the state's counsel told the bench that Patwalia had appeared as an advocate for one of the parties in the Kasauli matter pending before the NGT and he cannot be an amicus in the case.

"We are aware of it," the bench said.

During the hearing, the bench also asked the state about status of a case in which on May 1, Assistant Town and Country Planner Shail Bala Sharma had gone to supervise the demolition of unauthorised construction at Kasauli's Narayani Guest House where its owner Vijay Singh had allegedly shot her dead.

The state told the court that the accused was in jail under judicial custody and they would place before the bench the details of latest development in that case.

The bench has posted the matter for further hearing in November and has asked the state to inform the parties in Kasauli matter before the NGT about pendency of this matter in the top court so that they could also make their submissions with regard to the direction passed by the tribunal.

On May 9, the apex court had suggested that the Himachal Pradesh government take action against those officials who were posted in Kasauli when illegal constructions had come up there and had sought their names and designations.

The court had earlier taken cognisance of the Kasauli incident in which Sharma was killed, terming the incident as very unfortunate and observed that it had happened due to "non-implementation" of the law.