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MC razes godowns, shops in Punjab’s Pabhat village amid protests
The residents held building plans of their houses and questioned the action and the illegality when the plans were duly approved.
The municipal council on Monday demolished nine structures — seven shops, one godown and one under construction godown — in Pabhat village in Zirakpur amid protests by the residents who pleaded the authorities to give them time till Tuesday.
“Just give us one day for God’s sake,” pleaded Harpreet Singh, husband of ward number 28 councillor in Zirakpur as he sat in front of the JCB. The protest halted the drive for about two hours after which the police forcibly removed him and continued the demolition drive.
The residents held building plans of their houses and questioned the action and the illegality when the plans were duly approved.
‘Living here before airport was built’
“Where do we go? The godown is the only source of income I have. This is my ancestral land and we are here even before the airport was built and now our houses have become illegal,” said Chanpreet Singh, who has a godown and house in Pabhat village.
“We have moved the high court and the petition will be heard on Tuesday so at least wait till then. The MC and the authorities are misleading the court, which lead to this demolition. Let the court hear us out,” said Amrik Singh, who has received notice for demolition of his house.
“Our building plans are approved and we are paying all the taxes, including property tax so now this demolition is unjustified,” said Sukhjinder Kaur, area resident. The MC officials were accompanied by the police on Monday. To carry out the demolition, two JCBs, one fire brigade, one ambulance and a hydraulic machine were deployed.
The MC has to submit the status report before the high court on October 16 regarding action taken on constructions within 100 metres of the airport.
Meanwhile, Zirakpur MC has issued 400 notices to the residents regarding the demolition drive and given them three days.
