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Punjab CM’s security staff fined for littering in VIP area
The Punjab CMO clarified that the challan was not against the CM’s residence; the challan of ₹10,000 was issued against Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deputy superintendent of police Harjinder Singh. A part of security of Punjab CM is handled by the CRPF.
A paramilitary force head deployed at the Punjab chief minister’s residential complex in Sector-2 was challaned on Saturday morning for littering in the posh locality which also houses the CM of Haryana.
The challan of ₹10,000 was issued against Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deputy superintendent of police Harjinder Singh. A part of security of Punjab CM is handled by the CRPF.
The development invited immediate reaction from local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu.
“…The address mentioned in the challan is House Number-7, Sector-2, Chandigarh. House numbers 44, 45, 6 and 7 are part of the Punjab chief minister’s residence. The CM office should take responsibility for any action in that area.” Sidhu said.
The Punjab CM lives in House Number 45.
Stating that it was not a knee-jerk reaction, Sidhu said, “People in the area have been complaining for years on. From Charanjit Singh Channi’s time as CM to now when Bhagwant Mann has taken over, the problem has only aggravated for the locals,” Sidhu alleged.
“The staff has been requested several times to not dump waste outside the premises but they pay no heed. Therefore, the challan has been issued,” he added.
He added that when the MC staff approached the security staff on Friday, they were threatened and told to stay away.
Sidhu said he hoped the incident would prove a deterrent for such violators in the future.
The Punjab CMO also clarified that the challan was issued to House Number 7, which is currently with the paramilitary force. “Media reports pertaining to challan issued to Punjab chief minister’s residence for garbage is misleading, baseless and far away from the facts,” the spokesperson said.
A senior MC official confirmed that challan was not issued to the official residence of Punjab CM. “Garbage from CM’s residence is picked up separately. There has not been any problem with that,” the official added.
“Either some construction work was taking place or shifting was going on. Some broken material was dumped at the gates of the southern side of CM’s residential complex from house number-7,” the MC official said.
Entry in the challan book shows those present at the house refused to sign the challan.
A planned city, Chandigarh has been struggling with the Centre’s Swachh rankings for years. The local MC has recently been able to take door-to-door garbage collection to villages on periphery and on July 15, it launched challan drive against those defaulting on waste segregation. In Swachh Survekshan 2021, Chandigarh’s rank dropped from 8 to 16 among 48 cities having a population of 10 lakh and above. Its overall score also dipped from 83% to 71%, mainly due to poor performance in garbage collection and sanitation.
