Kharar MC notifies PG policy, registration to begin in April

Permit will be given only after thorough inspections, says Khara MC’s executive officer

A week after fire in an illegal PG facility in Chandigarh, the Kharar municipal council has now notified and adopted the paying guest facility policy.

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“The registration process will begin next month,” said Sangeet Kumar, executive officer of Kharar municipal council. He said that as per norms, all owners of PG facilities in Kharar will have to get registered with the MC office. “We will collect proper records and inspect the PG accommodation before issuing permission,” he said.

The move comes after three girls died and two sustained injuries after a fire broke out in an unregistered paying guest facility in Sector 32-D on February 22.

Earlier, Kharar SDM Himanshu Jain wrote to the director of Punjab local bodies department, asking him to tighten the noose on illegal PG facilities in Kharar, Nayagaon and Kurali. Jain has directed local municipal councils to register them, check building bylaws and fire safety measures, and also directed the police to verify them.

Last Monday, the SDM had checked three PG facilities in Kharar, Nayagaon, and Kurali and found the owners violating the norms. “About 100 students were found packed in three PG accommodations. The owners had not maintained any record of the students,” Jain said.

However, an official of the administration, requesting anonymity, said they had no record of PG accommodations with them.

Suman Sharma, councillor of ward number 1 in Kharar, said, “These facilities are violating norms with impunity. Neither are they registered with the police or civic body, nor is the government serious about curbing the illegal mushrooming of such accommodations.”

Ashok Sharma, president of Beopar Mandal in Kharar, said, “Illegal PG facilities also turn into dens of crime. Students putting up in such accommodations roam the roads till late night, posing a threat to women.”

In July last year, police had launched a crackdown on PG accommodations. 500 such facilities were checked of which 60 owners were booked for having tenants and paying guests without police verification.

SDM said, “After Kharar, the policy will be adopted by Nayagaon and Kurali MCs too.”

Once a house is registered as a PG facility, electricity and water charges are levied at commercial rates. Also, many sign a tenancy agreement with their PG facility owner to avoid this registration.

If one is found running a PG business without registration, his property can be seized after issuing a show-cause notice.

Take a registration form from MC office and submit it with required documents. An inspector will be sent to the site for inspection after which the PG facility will be registered.

The applicant must maintain a rolling register to keep a record of paying guests, their permanent address, photo and identity proofs. A copy of the paying guests photo and ID card must be provided to local police.

-Owner of the house or members of the family must reside in the house (with documentary evidence)
- Provide one paying guest with 50 sq ft space and toilet and one water closet (WC) per five persons
-Details of help on-premises for the paying guest
-an undertaking to maintain peace, harmony and discipline in the area
-Number of kitchens as per approved building plan
-An undertaking to maintain good standards of hygiene
-Number and date of occupation certificate
-An undertaking that there is no notice/court proceeding on account of building violations/misuse/non-payment