Murree: Punjab govt launches drive against land mafia

[Naveed Yaseen]

Usman Manzoor

Islamabad
The Punjab government has launched a grand and much needed operation against the hotel mafia in Murree, which has constructed high-rise buildings on the mountaintops causing huge risk to lives and environment.

It is feared that illegally constructed hotels of the locals would be spared because of their affiliation with the ruling party in the province.

Though the hotel industry earns billions of rupees for

the country in the meantime the illegal construction has haunted the beauty of the ‘Queen of Hills’ and hundreds of lives have also become vulnerable.

Murree Tehsil Municipal

Officer (TMO) Nadeem

Sarwar, who is in charge of the operation told ‘The News’ that an operation has been launched against the high-rise buildings in Murree, which have put hundreds of lives at stake and the natural beauty of Murree has also been destroyed.

While talking to ‘The News’ the in-charge of demolition

of illegal buildings said that a committee was constituted, which had conducted a

survey and reported that 105 hotels and apartments in

Murree have exceeded their limits.

“The Punjab government has initiated an operation against those hotels and would raze every building to the extent of violation,” said the officer adding: “We have started from under construction buildings and would move on and so far no one has objected to the operation.”

He ruled out any political pressure and said that the operation would be completed at all costs. He also mentioned that a large contingent of police is also accompanying the operation team.

It is worth mentioning here that some 700 police personnel and heavy machinery of the Punjab government have already reached Murree to comply the orders of Punjab government.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had also taken a suo moto notice of high-rise buildings in Murree after a high-rise building collapsed, which resulted in the death of six people.

Well-placed sources told ‘The News’ that stakes of the parties involved in pushing Murree to its present murderous shape are so high that there was every likelihood of involvement of political gurus to stop operation against illegal buildings.

“The vast majority of the high-rise buildings, presently haunting the lives of the innocent like nightmares, had the blessings of the authorities,” said the sources.

Sources disclosed that there was pressure on the Punjab government to take action against these high-rise buildings before Supreme Court’s intervention.

“On Saturday only those hotels were targeted, which were under construction and belonged to non-locals whereas the big guns and politically strong people have not

been touched,” said the sources adding: “The hotels, which have been declared

dangerous and were in the

line of fire include Pick n

Rise, Hotel Ambassador and Hotel Java International

and owners of these hotels were having strong grounds in the political party ruling Punjab.”

The sources said that the standard building codes in Murree says that only 3 storeys (Ground floor + two storeys) could be allowed whereas the hotel mafia has constructed more than ten floors. “One untoward incident could claim hundreds of lives,” said the sources.

Murree Tehsil Municipal

Officer said that razing 105 buildings was not an easy task and the administration would neither accept any political pressure nor would leave any hotel or apartment, which has been constructed against the bylaws.

While Aftab Ahmad Abbasi the owner of a high-rise hotel, Pick n Rise told ‘The News’ that he had authority letters and NOCs of the government to construct the hotel. He said that the approved map of the hotel was also a licence to build storeys.

When asked how he got permission to construct

such a high hotel the owner said that the Tehsil Municipal

Officer had given him the permission and the administration should be asked about it.

He said that the hotel association in its meeting has decided that not a brick would be allowed to be razed.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=198400