CRAWFED meeting: ‘Property owners not aware of MC registry rules; it is estate office’s duty to tell other depts’

“The residents who bought property after 2017 are now getting notices to submit thousands of rupees as they did not inform the MC authorities about the sale deed in time,” the members stated. This and several other RWA concerns were raised at a meeting of the CRAWFED, held on Sunday at Community Centre, Sector 43, Chandigarh. Representatives of 98 resident welfare associations (RWAs) participated in the meeting, where the Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Anindita Mitra was the chief guest. Mitra was accompanied by NP Sharma, MC Chief Engineer. A memorandum of civic related issues of Municipal Corporation was handed over to Mitra.

They said that when the registry of a house is done by the estate office, it should become incumbent on the estate office to inform departments concerned including the MC instead of harassing a resident. They also stated that when the occupant is paying house tax regularly, there is no need to impose a penalty of Rs 10 per day.

“It has now come to our knowledge that the MC has sent a proposal to levy penalty of 10 paisa per day prospectively instead of Rs 10. As such we request you to cancel all the notices already issued in this respect as the residents were unaware of such resolution,” it was stated.

The CRAWFED also raised the issue of the MC not releasing dues on time for maintenance of neighbourhood parks, as the RWAs maintaining them are dependent on these reimbursements to give timely salaries to gardeners. They urged that dangerous trees be pruned or pulled down, as they are a risk to life and property. They pointed out that material being used in road recarpeting is of sub-standard quality, stating that the life of such roads hardly lasts for few months and urged that respective RWAs be involved in planning these. Members also said that the MC’s malba (debris) dumpingground in Sector 45 D makes the area dirty, and requested to shift the same.

Dr Anish Garg, CRAWFED general secretary demaned land for rescued stray animals for their rehabilitation and treatment. Hitesh Puri, chairman, stressed upon involvement of RWAs in proper implementation of government projects and cleanliness of city. He further suggested to form a committee of prominent members of RWAs to discuss issues related to UT, before taking up agendas in the MC House for transparency.

Mitra assured that woks brought to her notice would be resolved on priority. She also appealed to residents to cooperate with the MC in keeping the city clean, and avoid littering roads, and encouraged the use of dustbins in their four-wheelers. She also appreciated the suggestion of a ‘pashushala’ for injured and ill animals and promised to bring this proposal in the House and allot land accordingly.