Chandigarh: 3 violations detected in initial probe

CHANDIGARH: Three major violations — not registered as a paying guest, no police verification and structural flaws in the building — were detected in the Sector 32 two-storey house that caught fire on Saturday leading to the death of three girls, according to initial inquiry findings.
Deputy commissioner Mandip Singh Brar had marked a detailed inquiry to SDM (south) Satish Kumar Jain. He has asked departments of the administration to bring related information on record.
“Some violations have already come to our notice. Since Sunday is a holiday, we will start the detailed inspection from Monday. Structural violations are clearly visible in the way the house was converted into a PG and it was not registered as a PG,” an official said.
By not registering PGs, building owners are also evading commercial water and power charges. They continue to pay domestic water and power charges, which are very less as compared to commercial charges. The estate office can even impose penalty on the building owners for violating rules. According to the rates of misuse, for nonpermitted trade in the commercial category, the rate of penalty is Rs 8 per square foot while in the industrial category it is Rs 10 per square foot. “PG owners are bound to take the commercial meters for both water and power facilities by informing the department concerned,” said an official of the UT administration.
When asked about police verification, inspector Baldev Kumar, SHO, Sector 34 police station, said, “The owner of the house neither informed about running the PG to us nor apply for police verification.”