(Editor’s note: This article follows the return of one of his properties to the Government by BJD MlA Pranab Balabantaray, son of Rajya Sabha BJD member Kalpataru Das)
The Supreme Court and different High Courts have already upheld the Rule of law in directing demolition of structures in Mumbai, Noida and other places having no sanctions of law. Structures very often constructed with great speed by some builders are without any approval of the regulatory authorities or in contravention of irremediable deviations from the approvals granted by the authorities and/or in violation of environmental laws, including those relating to eco-sensitive zones. Demolition orders have been strictly enforced and persons who had been lured into depositing money for buying any such property have had the benefit of refund of amounts with interest thereon.
The scenario in our State capital of Bhubaneswar is that quite a few high-rise buildings have come up in gross violation of law with impunity and the city has scrolled out into areas that required clearance under the Forest Conservation Act from the Government of India. Natural sources of drainage have been encroached and built upon. Restrictions on nature of use of land and structures thereupon have been glaringly trampled over. It has almost become a demonstration of status symbol if you could put up structures without any authority of law. Money and muscle power coupled with political/bureaucratic patronage provided convenient avenue for ill-gotten money from illegal activities like mining, etc., to be pumped into real estate investments. The authorities concerned, including the BDA and Government departments, conveniently closed their eyes and joined such ventures as strange bedfellows.
Similar has been the situation in the dispensation of allotment of houses/plots through the abuse of discretionary quota and other forms of machinations. Brazen abuse of so-called “discretion” has become rampant. Instead of cancelling such allotments and inflicting penalties, law is being mocked at by so-called “surrenders” of some of these properties. It is forgotten that such actions are clear cases of admissions of guilt.
There appears to be a sense of helplessness on the part of the authorities and they do not want the moneyed mighty to be humbled before the Rule of law. The salutary principle “Be you so high, the law is above you” has been reversed in a perverse manner, almost to an extent to make the citizens feel, “If you are the high and mighty, you are above law”. The details of illegal constructions and allotments of houses/plots were discussed in this column of July 23, 2014 under the headline “Have clout; Get away with anything from BDA, CDA”. But for peripheral action in demolition in a few encroachments where a road had to be widened, there has been total apathy on the part of the BDA and Government departments to remove the totally unauthorised illegal structures or cancel the illegitimate allotments of plots/house without any avoidable delay.
It is but natural for common citizens to have a reasonable impression that the economically weaker ones and a few unavoidable cases have been subjected to the enforcement of the Rule of law. For the others with their immense clout, they still mock at the authorities and even manipulate the records to cause subterfuge and continue to enjoy the tacit protection of the authorities through paralysed inaction. The situation is now boiling over. Alert and conscious citizen groups are already knocking at the door of the courts of justice. If law is flouted so blatantly within the knowledge (and concerned apathy) of the authorities, the superior courts will be persuaded by the well-settled law laid down by the Supreme Court that the authorities/officials concerned shall also be held liable for perpetrating blatant violation of the Rule of law. Exemplary damages have been imposed on such officials by the superior courts providing adequate precedents to book not only the violating builders or allottees but also the colluding officials for breach of “public trust” in the abuse of their public power coupled with the public duty.
As a last opportunity for the authorities and the Government departments/ officials to wake up to discharge their bounden duty, enlightened and conscious citizens must put such elements to notice that the “juggernaut” of law, once set in motion, may very well crush them under its grinding wheels. Their criminal neglect of public duties by abuse or nonuse of public power must necessarily be visited with exemplary actions by the enforcers of law, the High Court and the Supreme Court, who are endowed with plenary powers to command and ensure implementation of the Rule of law. It is time the bells started ringing and the perpetrators of violation of law were again reminded that law is no respecter of any persons or their power. The prevalent scenario is indicative of perverse governance. Arrogance of the mighty cannot be permitted to have the pleasure of vulgarly violating the law. And the Government reportedly has a list of the unauthorised constructions and illegally-allotted houses/plots. The curtain must be drawn now, rather than later. And this definitely concerns us.
(The writer, a Senior Advocate, is a former All India Service officer, a former diplomat, a former editorand a former Advocate General of Odisha. jayantdas@hotmail.com)