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Illegal construction in Ludhiana: Building branch officials refute report’s findings
MC officials respond to show-cause notice issued after report finds 57,862 illegal constructions in Ludhiana city
Responding to show-cause notices issued after a report estimated 57,862 illegal constructions in the city, municipal corporation building branch officials on Tuesday evening refuted the findings.
Officials said over 5,000 connections had been mentioned twice, and connections of a few colonies falling outside the civic body limits, those issued against flats constructed under Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP), and those of advertisement unipoles (outside MC jurisdiction) have also been mentioned in the list. “The building branch has either issued challans or approved the plans of around 27,000 buildings in the city during the said period,” they said while adding that there were many other anomalies in the report.
Municipal corporation commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal had issued the notices to around 109 officials, who were deputed in the building branch of the MC between 2016 to 2020, in the last week of February. A response was sought from them after MC additional commissioner Rishipal Singh compared the number of power connections issued by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) with the number of building plans issued by the MC from 2016 to 2020.
One of the officials, requesting anonymity, said, “The report was incorrect and had demoralised the staff. Most of the connections have been verified by MC officials, and the remaining 15,000 power connections will be verified soon.”
MC commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal said a final report will be sent to the local bodies department after going through the responses submitted by the officials. “An inquiry was marked by local bodies minister Brahm Mohindra in the past, and an RTI activist from the city has also filed a complaint in this regard with the vigilance department.”
What were the findings?
As per the report submitted by additional commissioner Rishipal Singh, the PSPCL had issued 76,770 power connections in areas falling under the municipal corporation’s jurisdiction between 2016 and 2020. However, only 7,467 building plans were approved during the corresponding period, challans had been issued against 11,441 buildings, and no action had been taken against the remaining 57,862 buildings.
An inquiry was marked by local bodies minister Brahm Mohindra last year, and an RTI activist from the city has also filed a complaint in this regard with the vigilance department.
