JAIPUR: The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) demolished a six-storey building under construction in Malviya Nagar on Sunday due to a lack of building permission. The owners claimed that the Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) had approved their building plan and other necessary permissions.
This incident has highlighted the questionable coordination between the city’s civic bodies, as the owners stated they invested Rs 1.25 lakh to secure the requisite JMC approvals.
JDA DIG Rahul Katakey explained that the land belonged to JDA, and the owners did not provide proof of JDA’s sanction. “They only presented us with approval from JMC. The structure was deemed unsafe, prompting our decision to demolish it entirely,” he stated.
The three owners—Naresh Manwani, Puneet Gurnani, and Prasant Motwani—planned to use the building as a guest house for students and office workers.
An enforcement officer from JDA remarked, “We will verify the approvals provided by JMC. If they are legitimate, it raises serious questions about how JMC can approve constructions on land owned by JDA.”
The six-storey building, which included basement parking, was situated on Girdhar Marg across from an Amit Bhardwaj petrol pump. Owner Naresh Manwani arrived during the demolition, expressing his objections. “The plot is under JMC jurisdiction, and we paid Rs 1.25 lakh for plan approvals. Construction has been ongoing for two months, and now JDA is pressuring us to halt work. We have valid approvals and receipts from JMC. The state government must take responsibility for this mishap,” he stated.
Mukut Singh, JMC’s deputy commissioner for the Malviya Nagar Zone, stated that JMC had no involvement in the issue since the land belonged to JDA. “We have not approved any building plans,” he said.
Chandra Sekhar Parashar, a former additional chief town planner for the state, mentioned that many JMC plots have been transferred to JDA without public notification. “It’s a trend in Jaipur: builders often circumvent JDA by obtaining approvals from JMC regarding JDA-owned plots due to easier sanctioning processes,” he noted.
Jitendra Shrimali, the former chairman of JMC’s building committee, asserted that the plot is indeed under JDA. “An investigation into the JMC officials is warranted. The owners should file an FIR,” he suggested.
Currently, JDA has filed an FIR against the owners at Jawahar Nagar police station and will soon issue a notice for the recovery of demolition costs.
