The latest directive of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on unauthorised commercialisation in the Balgarden-Karan Nagar belt is more than a judicial directive; it is an indictment of systemic apathy, administrative complicity and deliberate erosion of Srinagar’s urban planning framework. When a petition remains pending for years, and the implementing authority-in this case, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation-continues to dodge responsibility, one must ask a fundamental question: Is the Master Plan for Srinagar an executable vision, or merely a decorative document meant for shelves? What has unfolded in Balgarden-Karan Nagar is a textbook case of how a city loses its planned character. The committee constituted by SMC itself identified 54 structures violating land-use norms, zoning laws, building permissions and the very spirit of Master Plan Srinagar-2035. These are not minor deviations; they strike at the heart of urban sustainability. Access lanes have been blocked, community spaces encroached upon, and even emergency vehicle movement compromised. The damage is tangible, dangerous and irreversible if unchecked.
Yet, instead of moving swiftly to enforce the law, SMC attempted to label its own committee’s findings as “preliminary”-a stance the High Court rightly rejected as an attempt to evade responsibility and delay implementation. When an authority tasked with enforcing regulations becomes an obstacle in their enforcement, the governance structure collapses. The million-dollar question indeed is: Why is SMC so hesitant to place violations before the High Court in the first place? What interest is being protected, and for whom? This is not the first time SMC has looked away while violations multiplied. Such patterns reveal a deeply entrenched systemic failure. Urban planning laws do not fail on their own-they are made to fail by those entrusted to safeguard them. The HC’s observation that “findings without action defeat the purpose of forming the committee” is a stark reminder that mere identification of violations is meaningless unless accompanied by decisive enforcement.
It is also a matter of grave concern that the present crisis came to the court’s attention only through the vigilance of a few committed individuals. Ideally, SMC should have been the first to flag violations, register complaints and initiate punitive action. Instead, its approach reflects reluctance bordering on resistance. A civic body that should be the guardian of urban order is instead projecting reports as “preliminary” to buy more time that benefits only the violators. Cities survive and thrive only when planning norms are respected. When concrete structures multiply, green cover shrinks, and common amenities evaporate, the collective quality of life deteriorates rapidly. Srinagar is already witnessing this distressing trend. Rampant commercialisation of residential pockets, unchecked vertical growth, haphazard construction and disappearing public spaces are symptomatic of a city losing its ecological and social balance. If the implementing agency itself abdicates responsibility, the Master Plan becomes meaningless.
The HC has therefore done well to direct the Government to constitute a committee to fix responsibility to officials under whose watch these violations flourished. Accountability must not be symbolic-it must be enforceable and exemplary. Unless culpable officials face real consequences, the culture of impunity will persist. The court’s insistence on identifying such officers reflects a deeper understanding that administrative accountability is the cornerstone of urban governance. On the Government’s side, there is no justification for drafting elaborate Master Plans, spending public money and convening committees if the implementing authority behaves like a silent spectator. The Government must intervene at the highest level. The concerned Minister should immediately summon a comprehensive list of all violations from SMC, review its enforcement record, and lay down a time-bound action plan. Every major violation must be converted into an exemplary case with penalties severe enough to deter future offenders.
The HC has raised the red flag repeatedly, but judicial oversight cannot run the city. The onus now lies squarely with the Government to restore credibility to urban governance. Srinagar cannot afford policy paralysis any longer. If Master Plan violations continue at this pace, the city’s future will be compromised irreversibly. This moment calls for bold, corrective, structural action-nothing less.
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