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Chandigarh admn unseals Bharat Vikas Parishad centre within minutes amid BJP pressure
Chandigarh administration removed seal from the Sector 24-based diagnostic centre following a protest led by Chandigarh mayor Anup Gupta
Bowing to pressure by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the UT Estate Office unsealed the Bharat Vikas Parishad Charitable Diagnostic Centre in Sector 24 on Friday, minutes after it was sealed over multiple building violations.
On the local SDM’s orders, an Estate Office team had sealed the centre on Friday morning, but was forced to remove the seal after a protest led by BJP mayor Anup Gupta, who is a trustee of the parishad.
A non-governmental organisation, Bharat Vikas Parishad is a sister association of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Its diagnostic centre, set up in 1991, is running from the premises of UT administration’s Indira Holiday Home, which also has a primary school.
Operating through donations, the centre offers diagnostic tests, including MRI, CT Scan, X-Ray, ultrasound, doppler ultrasonography, and blood and urine analysis, along with OPD consultations for various health conditions, at concessionary rates.
According to Anil Narad, enforcement officer of the UT Estate Office, the social welfare society had constructed two illegal rooms and even raised illegal constructions on a toy train track as part of the diagnostics centre.
“Therefore, acting on an order by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM, Central), our team reached the spot around 9.15 am to seal the centre. But as we installed the seal, city mayor Anup Gupta, along with BJP leader Ramvir Bhatti and parishad president Ajay Dutta, reached the spot and staged a protest. They made some calls, after which senior officials directed us to undo the seal,” he added.
On future action, he said it will be discussed with senior officials.
On the other hand, mayor Anup Gupta, while admitting to the building violations, questioned how could the Estate Office seal the centre when patients were arriving for tests and consultations: “The centre provides medical services at subsided rates. Which building does have not violations?”
He further alleged that the action was deliberately planned when the UT administrator was out of town.
A senior official of the Estate Office added, “There was a toy train for children at Indira Holiday Home, but the parishad management dismantled the track in 2006 and encroached upon the area.”
Even after repeated attempts, SDM (central) Sanyam Garg could not be contacted for comments.
