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File individual replies or face demolition: Chandigarh DC to furniture traders
A delegation of furniture traders met deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh in his office on Tuesday after the LAO issued notices to them on June 22, directing them to vacate the government land by June 28
The Chandigarh administration on Tuesday directed the shopkeepers of the Sector-53 Furniture Market to file individual replies to the land acquisition officer (LAO) before June 28, failing which their shops will demolished.
A delegation of furniture traders met deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh in his office on Tuesday after the LAO issued notices to them on June 22, directing them to vacate the government land by June 28.
After hearing their concerns, Singh asked them to file their individual replies to the LAO before June 28 to avoid demolition by authorities. “The delegation requested to offer them an opportunity to buy shops in the upcoming Bulk Material Market on open auction and till the auction is conducted, they offered to pay rent for the encroached area, as assessed by the administration. However, it was clarified that the administration is the absolute owner of this land at Badheri village, and the Furniture Market is in the nature of encroachment on government land,” the DC said.
He also confirmed that the traders individual replies will be examined on merit and a decision will be taken by the administration after due consideration of legal position.
“The meeting was held only to understand their views on this issue and no decision regarding either rehabilitation or charging of rent can be taken as of now till their individual replies are received by the administration and duly examined as per rules, fact of the case and legal position,” the DC further clarified.
Notably, set up illegally on government land, the furniture market came up around 37 years ago. Ever since, around 120 shops have been set up in the market.
While the UT administration had tried to remove the shops, mostly run by tenants, they got a stay order from the Punjab and Haryana high court in 1993 and there has been no move to shift the market ever since.
Shopkeepers contend that the administration has failed to shift the market despite several requests, even though the traders are paying around ₹10 crore GST every year.
Earlier in the day, BJP leader Arun Sood said, “Though it became a burning issue in the city, the AAP mayor and newly elected MP showed no interest in saving the market. We met the administrator yesterday and apprised him of the situation and demanded the demolition to be stayed. We requested the DC that on the pattern of the erstwhile Marble Market, a Bulk Market proposal should be made to rehabilitate the furniture market in the city.”
A delegation, led by Chandigarh BJP president Jatinder Pal Malhotra, and Punjab and Chandigarh BJP general secretary Manthri Srinivasulu, also met Punjab governor and UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit on Tuesday.
Through a release, the BJP claimed that the governor assured them that no coercive measures will be taken regarding demolition notices sent to religious places and Furniture Market. The UT administration has served notices to several “illegal” religious places, asking them to remove encroachment or the authorities will do it.
