Shimla: Delivering a strong message against official agencies violating land and construction laws, the Himachal Pradesh high court has ordered the demolition of a Shimla municipal corporation ward office in Sanjauli after finding it was constructed on forest land without an approved building plan.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) on encroachments at Bangala Colony in Sanjauli, invoked the Latin maxim “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (Who will guard the guards?)”, to underline the seriousness of the irregularity.“It is a matter of record that district Shimla is at the top of the list and worst affected by encroachments on the forest land,” the court underlined.The high court directed the municipal corporation to demolish its ward office and restore the site to its original condition. It also ordered the civic body to initiate proceedings to remove 10 other illegal structures constructed on corporation land by following due process of law.The court emphasised that responsibility must be fixed on the officials who allowed and inaugurated the building despite the land belonging to the forest department and the absence of a sanctioned building plan. It further directed that the land be mutated in favour of the forest department as per the 2013 notification.The PIL relates to alleged encroachments and illegal constructions on forest and public land near Durga Gas Store and the under-construction ground adjoining SPM School at Sanjauli. The court was also informed about the cementing of green areas, damage to standing deodar trees, and the dumping and burning of garbage on forest land.During the proceedings, it emerged that 23 structures had been raised on forest land, while 10 structures stood on the corporation land. The forest department had initiated 23 encroachment cases concerning over 822 square metres of forest land.The court noted that the municipal corporation ward office had been constructed on khasra No. 464, even though ownership of the land had already been transferred to the forest department through a notification issued on Oct 15, 2013. The office was inaugurated on Oct 17, 2015. The corporation admitted that no building plan was sanctioned for the ward office’s construction.The building was constructed in 2014 at a cost of Rs 4.18 lakh. Later, additional construction, including offices and a community centre-cum-reading room, involved further public expenditure.The corporation sought to justify the construction by saying the tendering process had been underway since 2010 and that the land was later transferred to the forest department. The court, however, refused to accept the explanation as a ground to overlook or regularise the illegality. The case has now been listed for compliance on Nov 17.
