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Will consider furniture traders’ plea for rehab, Chandigarh admn assures HC
The petition was filed on July 17 by Jaswinderpal Singh and 115 odd other shopkeepers, challenging Chandigarh admn’s final notice given before the demolition was carried out on July 20
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday disposed of a petition by displaced furniture market shopkeepers after the Chandigarh administration assured that their demand of rehabilitation will be reconsidered.
The petition was filed on July 17 by Jaswinderpal Singh and 115 odd other shopkeepers, challenging UT’s final notice given before the demolition was carried out on July 20.
Their argument was that they had been doing business here since 1986 and the UT’s move would adversely affect their livelihood. However, they did not get a relief from the high court and demolition was carried out on July 20.
After the Wednesday hearing, one of the traders’ lawyers, Amandeep Singh Talwar, said after UT’s assurance of considering their demand for rehabilitation, the court disposed of the plea, asking them to file a representation before the administration, which will have to decide the same within one month. The detailed order of the proceedings is awaited.
After multiple attempts in the past, on January 9 this year, the UT had issued eviction orders and made it clear that no alternative site for relocation will be provided. However, the exercise remained on hold for a while and on July 20, the UT Estate Office finally reclaimed nearly 12 acres of government land that had been illegally occupied by furniture sellers in Sectors 53 and 54 for the last four decades.
As per officials, the land is worth ₹400 crore and has been handed over to the engineering department for the planned development of residential areas as part of the extension of Sectors 53 and 54.
