BJP accuses Ludhiana MC of harassing shopkeepers with incorrect notices

The BJP leaders said the notices were also served to shops that were established five decades back, when the CLU norms were not in place

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed the municipal corporation (MC) for serving change of land use (CLU) notices to shopkeepers without checking its own records.

Representative image/HT

The BJP leaders said the notices were also served to shops that were established five decades back, when the CLU norms were not in place. While traders were facing financial crises due to the pandemic and restrictions imposed by the government, this exercise by the MC was akin to harassment, the leaders said.

Mayor Balkar Sandhu said, “Notices are being served to recover pending charges and nobody is being harassed. Those facing issues can contact me and the issue would be resolved at the earliest. The CLU charges are being recovered only from those whose shops were established after CLU norms came into being.”

The MC recently began an exercise to recover the pending CLU charges from owners of shops situated on various commercial roads of the city. The shopkeepers are being told to show the CLU certificate or deposit the dues.

BJP district president Pushpinder Singal said, “Rather than providing any relief to residents, the state government is harassing them by issuing notices without checking its own records. The timing is not right as people are already struggling to make ends meet.”

Leader of BJP councillors in MC General House, Sunita Rani, said, “Congress leaders are shedding crocodile tears over the issue since the notices have been issued on their directions. If the MC does not stop harassing the public, we will be forced to take to roads in protest.”