UT extends deadline for filing objections to May 6

The members of Chandigarh Coordination Committee, which is a joint forum of more than 20 organisations of traders, industrialists and residents’ welfare associations (RWAs), protested outside the UT Secretariat in Sector 9 with placards in their hands. Later, they submitted their objections in writing to the UT Administration.

After the protest by the members of Chandigarh Coordination Committee, which was formed to oppose UT’s proposal of amendment of Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952, the UT Administration on Monday extended the date of filing objections to May 6.

The members submitted that proposed increase of penalty from Rs 500 in the original Act to be increased to up to Rs 2 lakh, followed by Rs 8,000 per day, is exorbitantly high and will prove fatal to the business community. They also submitted that the UT Administration should convene a meeting of the representatives of Chandigarh Coordination Committee with senior officials, including UT Adviser, finance secretary and others, on this crucial issue, so that they can also submit their viewpoint. They also submitted that the concept of annual increase of 5% is completely unwarranted since penalty should not be considered as revenue-earning exercise like water tariff and electricity charges.

PUBLIC NOTICE

The UT’s public notice says, “Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (2) of Section 4 or Section 6 of the Act shall, on conviction, be punishable with fine, which may extend to Rs 2 lakh, and a further fine, which may extend to Rs 8,000 for each day during which the offence is proved to have continued after the first day,” said the draft amendment with respect to the building misuse violations. The penalty was also proposed to be increased by 5% annually. However, the maximum penalty levied on any person may not exceed 20% of the total value of the property calculated as per the prevalent collector rate on the date of adjudication.