ibune News Service

Ludhiana, November 26

In an inquiry regarding illegal constructions in the city, the Municipal Corporation (MC) officials claimed that there were around 15,000-16,000 structures that had not been issued notices.

Local Bodies Minister had, in June 2020, written to the MC and sought a comparative report about the building maps approved by the MC and new electricity connections issued by the PSPCL from 2016 to 2019.

Additional Commissioner Rishipal Singh had then written to the MC’s building branch officials to submit the report that the report was being delayed. He had also written to the higher authorities that the building branch officials were not cooperating in the inquiry.

Now in the report, Municipal Town Planner SS Bindra stated that the building inspectors were responsible to check the constructions in the city. He has also submitted a list of building inspectors of the MC’s Zone A, B, C and D who were supposed to issue challans against the illegal constructions.

However, sources in the MC said no survey had been carried out in a proper manner on ground to know the actual number of illegal constructions in the city. Sources also said that there were a large number of illegal constructions in the city against which the MC had earlier issued challans, but recovery had not been conducted from a number of violators till date.

City-based RTI activist Rohit Sabharwal had earlier also complained that there could be a huge difference between the number of new electricity connections and the approved building plans in the city. He had alleged that thousands of new electricity connections had been issued by the PSPCL, but the number of approved building plans and challans against the illegal constructions were quite less.

Joint Commissioner Kulpreet Singh said the report had been submitted to the higher authorities. He further said that these were mostly small residential constructions.