?Simplify procedure for issuing sewerage connections?

PERTURBED OVER the ?complicated? procedure adopted by the Irrigation and Public Health (I&PH) Department in issuing sewerage connections, various organisations including Manali Beopar Mandal, Hoteliers Association and local Mahila Mandal are up in arms against the department and have approached the IPH minister Kaul Singh Thakur to look into the matter.

PERTURBED OVER the “complicated” procedure adopted by the Irrigation and Public Health (I&PH) Department in issuing sewerage connections, various organisations including Manali Beopar Mandal, Hoteliers Association and local Mahila Mandal are up in arms against the department and have approached the IPH minister Kaul Singh Thakur to look into the matter.

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In a telegraphic message to the minister, the presidents of three organisations said that in order to issue commercial connections a prescribed forms costing Rs 50 needed to be verified by a junior engineer of local Nagar Panchayat, assistant engineer HPPWD and patwari concerned.

“But they have made the procedure complicated and the department is also asking for “tatima” (spot map) and “parcha jamabandi” (land record), the logic of which was not understandable when the patwari had already put his verification report on the prescribed forms,” reads the communiqué.

They said that citizens at large are being harassed due to the complicated procedure adopted to grant the sewerage connections. They urged the minister to stop this practice describing the orders as “tughlaki hukumnamas”.

The copies of the complaint have been forwarded to the agriculture minister Raj Krishan Gaur, chief engineer, IPH, Mandi, SE, IPH, executive engineer, IPH, Kullu, and AE, IPH Manali.