JAMMU, Sep 12: President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Jammu, Arun Gupta, has expressed serious concern over the demolition of shops in the Satwari-Nai Basti area of Jammu city in connection with ongoing highway expansion and infrastructure development works.
Gupta said the affected shopkeepers have been displaced without adequate financial assistance or written assurance regarding their rehabilitation, causing immense hardship and distress among the business community. He pointed out that many of the shopkeepers had availed loans from banks and other financial institutions to establish and operate their businesses and are now facing severe financial difficulties following the demolition.
While acknowledging the importance of infrastructure development and highway expansion, the CCI President stressed that the livelihoods and interests of the business community cannot be overlooked in the process.
“These are not merely structures; they are the source of income and sustenance for families who have been carrying out their businesses for decades,” Gupta said, adding that the manner in which the demolition exercise has been undertaken has created uncertainty and concern among traders.
Gupta further said the CCI was not aware whether the land earmarked for the proposed commercial complex had been formally transferred to the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) or whether some formalities were still pending. He urged the concerned authorities to complete any remaining procedures without further delay so that construction of the proposed complex could begin and be completed at the earliest.
The CCI President also urged the government to provide suitable financial assistance to the affected shopkeepers to help them sustain their families until alternative shop sites are allotted and they are fully rehabilitated.
Appealing to the UT Administration, Gupta called for immediate and effective rehabilitation of all affected shopkeepers and urged the authorities to provide them with suitable alternative arrangements to resume their businesses.
He emphasised that development and infrastructure expansion should go hand in hand with a humane rehabilitation policy, ensuring that traders and their families do not bear the disproportionate burden of development projects.