Tshering Namgyal | Mongar

Plot owners in Mongar town whose plots fall under environmental conservation precinct (E-zone) say they are worried they may not be allowed to come up with construction.

Plot owners have recently been calling and visiting the dzongkhag human settlement sector with the complaints.

“I heard that the Changshingpeg area, which was initially declared green zone, is now shifted to Jarungkhashor area and I am affected,” a plot owner Tenzin said.

However, officials from the human settlement sector clarified that the environmental conservation precinct (E1) is there in the old structural plan 2000-2015 and the plot owners were informed during consultation meetings.

While some other towns have environmental precinct (E1-E4), Mongar has only E1; 45 plots in Trailing and 18 in Jarungkhashor area were initially under E1.

But the good news is except two in Jarungkhashor area, rest of the 63 plots that fell under the E1 in the recently approved Trailing-Jarungkhashor Local Area Plan (LAP) can come up with the construction now. Mongar Thromde proposed new precinct called restricted development precinct (RDP), which is approved by the national committee for human settlement.

Construction in the RDP, however, is limited to one- to two-storey structures upon production of clearance from the geotec consultancy firm, according to thromde officials.

According to Mongar Thromde land pulling of 15 percent in Jarungkhashor and 26 percent in Trailing area was done from some plots and urban land tax levied from the plot owners whose plots earlier fell under the E1 zone in this LAP.

According to thromde officials, no land pulling has been done and no construction is permitted in the plots falling under the E1 zone.

Trailing has 11 of the 180 plots and Jarungkhashor has 13 plots of the 51 plots falling in the RDP. An additional land pulling to make uniform 30 percent would be done for the development of common urban amenities for public services.

The NCHS approved the new precinct in its 22nd meeting on September 2019. The official letter for LAP implementation was issued on January 20 this year.

Officials said that they were waiting for the official plot validation letter from the national land commission secretariat before the plots are demarcated for construction.

The last LAP of Mongar town is reviewing the Changshingpeg, Naling and Dzong area. Architect Sangay Wangchuk said the notification had been served and the land transaction frozen in the area recently.

The finalized LAPs would be included in the Mongar structural plan 2016-40.

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