Banquet hall in green belt of Varuna river razed
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Varanasi: Acting tough against illegal constructions, the
Varanasi Development Authority
(VDA) on Monday demolished a banquet hall and restaurant constructed in the green belt of the Varuna in Sikraul ward.
The joint team of VDA officials and police raided the area and bulldozed the banquet and restaurant built on a steel structure with a tin shed on the bank of the Varuna.
VDA vice-chairman Pulkit Garg said that a demolition order was issued on Oct 10, 2024, against the construction of the banquet hall and restaurant by one Gopal Yadav on approximately 1,000 square metres of green belt near the Varuna as per the relevant Section-27 of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act-1973. The construction was done despite the provision of a green belt within 50 metre from the Varuna bank, where construction is prohibited, as stated in the Varanasi Master Plan 2031. Later, an appeal and a writ petition were filed in the Allahabad High Court against the order, but due to lack of clear evidence regarding the construction, it was dismissed. In compliance with the demolition order, VDA officials said, the construction was demolished.
While assessing the progress in works assigned to VDA officials in each zone for the month of April, VDA secretary Ved Prakash Mishra ordered withholding of May salary of zone-five junior engineer Ashok Yadav and all field staff until all pending files of regularisation of maps are disposed of.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the revenue collection being below the target, a clarification was sought from zone three zonal officer Saurabh Dev Prajapati, junior engineer Ravindra Prakash and Raju Kumar.
During the review meeting, the secretary gave clear instructions to address the negative feedback being given in public grievances received on the IGRS portal, take action against illegal plotting, unauthorized petrol, diesel and CNG filling stations and review the top-10 defaulters in building layouts (wards).
A total of 16 regularisation maps were approved during the period, with a total of Rs 3.11 crores collected as regularisation fees by zones three, four and five.
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