The illegal constructions and encroachments that are going on unimpeded have been undermining the glory of the holy city that draws thousands of pilgrims from across the country.Things are pretty bad in and around Har ki Pauri with construction and encroachment menace robbing the place of its spiritually evocative ambience. Concerned departments remain mired in somnolence.
The locals say the administration is conveniently looking the other way with illegal construction of multi-story buildings going unabated on over the past one year. Forest department, Municipal Corporation and Roorkee- Haridwar Development Authority are engaged in passing the buck to one another to shirk off their responsibility on the matter. “Maybe, they are indifferent because they all have shares in the pie,” an aggrieved local said.
Matter came into light when the former Tax Superintendent of Municipal Corporation Haridwar (MCH) Mahendra Yadav inspected the illegal construction site near PWD Guest House at Har ki Pauri in December 2013 and found MCH land had been encroached upon. He had issued notice to construction company, asking them to stop the construction and clear out of MCH land.
Yadav had informed his superiors too. He was later pressured by the politician-contractor nexus to withdraw the notice. Undaunted, Yadav lodged FIR against them in Kotwali City police station. Acting on the complaint, police finished its duty by seizing a licensed gun. In a few months thereafter, Yadav was transferred to another district, punished for his spunk to throw a dare to the errant contractors. The matter being probed by Roorkee Haridwar Development Authority (RHDA), a junior engineer had submitted a report on 4 February 2015. He was subsequently transferred too.
RHDA assistant engineer Vijay Kumar Mathur when quizzed declined to provide details from the files, saying he was not authorized. Mathur added he had sent served several notices to Indu Sharma, owner of construction company to stop the construction which is being carried out in the heart of the city, sans precaution and permission. However, things are continuing. Mathur said that secretary, RHDA alone has the authority to issue notice against any construction in the district.
On one side of the construction, there is a road through which thousands of pilgrims, passengers and tourists commute daily and on the other side, there are railway tracks of Northern Railway. “An accident can happen any time,” a local said. It is learnt that things are proving difficult for the administration to stop such construction as there exists no state government guideline regarding construction near Har ki Pauri.