High court order a triumph for citizens’ rights

JAIPUR: The real estate sector may be grumbling over Thursday’s high court decision preventing any alterations to master development plans of cities.
But the citizen-friendly order has come as a shot in the arm for residents living in old localities such as C-scheme, Bani Park, Shastri Nagar, Tilak Nagar and Adarsh Nagar, which are quickly turning into ‘high-rise’ colonies housing a large number of commercial establishments.
In recent times, the state government too has focused on promoting vertical growth with scant regard for the rights of residents to light, air and privacy in housing areas.
This has led to haphazard growth, disturbed the city’s skyline and, most importantly, trampled on the rights of citizens residing in such areas.
Kamal Boochra, a resident of Tilak Nagar, said, “I have been living here for the past 35 years. In recent years, there has been a spurt in high-rises in my locality. Since majority of the residential plots here are over 500 sq m in size, builders are offering huge amounts to owners to construct high-rises for quick money. My house is now surrounded by multi-storey buildings on three sides and I am struggling for sunlight and privacy. Though the court decision has come late, it is very good.”
In the absence of proper building rules, the construction of multi-storey apartments have increased exponentially in already established housing colonies.
Residents in these old areas are suddenly struggling for basic facilities such as parking, drinking water, open spaces and playgrounds for children. “The infrastructure to supply drinking water in old colonies was developed according to the number of plots the government had sold. Buildings of up to 10 storeys for minimum 50 families are being constructed on the same land where only one family lived earlier. This has created a shortage of resources for people already living there,” said Ratan Singh, a retired army officer in Bani Park.
With parking becoming a big issue, the high court, while emphasizing on mandatory parking areas in commercial buildings, has directed existing buildings with no parking spaces to create such areas within a time frame decided by local authorities.
If they fail to do so, the court called for sealing of such buildings and imposing appropriate penalty on defaulters. “Majority of the builders in old colonies have not provisioned for parking spaces. Cars of flat owners are parked on the roads. This has become a nuisance in old residential areas,” said Barka Jain, who resides near Gopalpura.
JDA’s former chief town planner S S Sancheti said, “The court decision will improve city’s planning. There are many cities which do not allow high-rises in already established residential colonies as it is considered violation of rights of people living there. Citing high demand for houses, developers were using the same residential plots to construct high-rises as there were no rules to stop them.”