Height axe on hill building, Gymkhana gets notice

Civic workers dismantle the building on Nehru Road in Darjeeling on Wednesday

Vivek Chhetri, TT, Darjeeling, Oct. 29:The Darjeeling municipality today started dismantling a portion of an under-construction building belonging to a hotelier along Nehru Road in Chowrasta as it was taller than the maximum permitted height in the hills.

Civic officials said they would also serve a notice on the Darjeeling Gymkhana Club for constructing a building that violated the municipal rule that no building in the hills must be taller than 11.5m.

Municipality workers said the building that is being demolished belongs to Urgen Palzor, who owns a hotel in Darjeeling.

“We had served a notice on the owner about three months back. Although the owner stopped further construction, he did not dismantle the portion which had exceeded the restricted height,” said Amar Singh Rai, the chairman of Darjeeling municipality.

the construction at Gymkahna Club. Pictures by Suman Tamang

According to the West Bengal Municipality Act, height restriction for buildings in Darjeeling is 11.5m, which is approximately the height of a four-storey building.

Rai said the construction on Nehru Road was almost six-storey-high. “Our workers have already started demolishing two floors,” he said.

The building was being constructed for commercial and residential purposes. Only the two floors that have crossed the 11.5m height would be demolished, municipal sources said.

Palzor could not be contacted and sources said he was in Arunachal Pradesh. His family runs a hotel in Darjeeling.

According to sources, Palzor had sought permission from the civic authorities for the construction within the permissible height.

Rai said the Darjeeling Gymkhana Club, too, was coming up with a new construction which is higher than 11.5m.

“Their construction has also touched six floors. We are sending a notice to them,” said the civic chairman.

Sources said the club started the construction last year and about four months back the civic body sent a notice asking the authorities to stop work.

Officials of the club refused comment.

The Darjeeling Gymkhana Club Limited was established in 1909. It is above the Mall Road next to Raj Bhavan. The club’s website states it has a “membership strength of 400 permanent members and 49 special members.”

The special members are mostly gazetted government officials.