Shimla: The Himachal High Court today directed partial demolition of a hotel building constructed at a prime location in the state capital for violating prevailing building norms.
Passing the demolition order, Justice Rajeev Sharma held that prevailing law pertaining to construction norms in the core area of Shimla was applicable and not one when the building was actually approved.
The court asked the petitioners for Harsha Hotel to demolish the unauthorised construction within three weeks or the Shimla municipal corporation would carry out the order.
Dismissing the writ petition, the judge held that in the case under consideration the current law where five storeys were not permitted prevailed upon the 1977 construction laws where 5 floors for the building have been allowed by the municipal corporation.
The court observed that the petitioner had admitted that any construction undertaken beyond four floors by him would be at his own risk.
Shravan Dogra, counsel for Shimla MC, pleaded that it in the present case it was the construction laws of Shimla MC prevailing at the time of construction of the fifth floor that were applicable and not the law prior to construction.
However the petitioner had based his case on the grounds that in the year 1977 the concerned authorities had sanctioned construction of 5 storeys for the building.
The petitioner constructed four storeys and in the year 1990 started construction work of the fifth floor. Consequently the construction work was stopped by the Shimla Municipal Corporation on the basis that the area was part of the core zone and the prevailing norms did not permit any construction in there.
As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.
Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.
