Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) suffered a setback yesterday on one hand, the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) court presided over by Commissioner Amarjeet Singh ordered demolition of an unauthorised structure at the Lalpani Cricket Academy and secondly the HP High Court turned down the HPCA plea for making chief minister Virbhadra Singh, the DGP, SP And DC Kangra as party by name to a case before it.
The municipal court concluded that the structure, which includes a changing room, toilets and some other facilities for operating the cricket academy at the Lalpani Ground had been constructed illegally in a green belt, where constructions are not permitted.
Passing orders that the demolition be carried out within 7 days otherwise the municipality would have to do so after imposing costs on the violators of the land laws.
The Commissioner Amarjeet Singh also imposed a penalty of Rupees 5,000 and Rupees 500 on the respondents, ordered that the water and electricity supplies to the cricket academy be cut off before citing Sections 242 and 244, along with Section 383 of the HP Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 for passing the tough directions.
“If the respondent fails to do so, the same shall be demolished by the Architect Planner Branch of MC at the cost, risk and responsibility of the respondent within seven days,” the commissioner court decreed..
The Municipal Corporation had earlier issued a notice to the academy on October 8, 2013 and asked for a reply by December 28.
In a double blow to the controversies surrounding the HPCA, the High Court yesterday dismissed a petition of HPCA that had impleaded for making Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, DGP Sanjay Kumar, DC Kangra C. Palarasu and SP Kangra Balbir Singh as a respondent party by name in the HPCA case.
HPCA had sought the action over DC Kangra having used force following the chief ministers directions of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh for breaking locks of the academy on October 26, 2013.
