Week before HC hearing, MC seals 10 hotels for violations

Ludhiana: Just a week before the hearing in a case pending before Punjab and Haryana high court, the Ludhiana municipal corporation sealed 10 hotels in Jawahar Nagar Camp area on Wednesday which were allegedly constructed in violation of building bylaws.
The MC had been directed to file a reply in the case whose next hearing is scheduled for May 17. Director, local bodies department, Uma Shankar has written a letter to MC commissioner Shena Aggarwal to clear the status of 105 buildings.
The hotels were constructed in violation of the building bylaws, due to which action was taken in presence of police force, officials said.
The civic body officials said a writ petition had been filed against these illegal hotels in the high court in the past. Following this, the department issued directions to take strict action against the violations.
Majority hotel owners have failed to leave proper parking space or didn’t get building plans approved from the MC. Notices were issued to the owners in the past, but they failed to show up.
The civic body officials said more such violations have been identified in the area and action will also be taken against those buildings in the coming days.
The MC officials urged the residents to get the building plans approved from MC before commencing construction works and should construct the buildings as per the building bylaws, otherwise strict action will be taken against them.
Meanwhile, a high-level drama was witnessed in Jawahar Nagar camp on Wednesday where owners of these hotels raised a hue and cry over the sealing exercise. They tried to stop the officials from sealing their units, but were not successful due to presence of cops. But, the officials had to stop at 10 hotels when resentment among the owners increased in the area. The petition had been filed by social activist Rohit Sabharwal more than three years back.