MC orders closure of 123 guest houses in 2 months

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 3

The local Municipal Corporation has ordered the owners of 123 guest houses being run from villages under its jurisdiction to close these down within two months for violating building bylaws. In case of failure to do so, the MC will seal these guest houses, hotels and motels.

The order, issued by Uma Shankar Gupta, Additional Commissioner-cum-Estate Officer, MC, reads, “The guest house owners are directed to close down their business within two months from the date of the issue of this order. Otherwise, the MC will seal the guest houses at the risk and cost of the owners.”

“...the running of the guest houses is not only causing a nuisance but is also  a serious threat to the life of visitors, besides being hazardous to their health. Therefore, exercising the power of the Estate Officer, I hereby order that the business of running guest houses in the abadi area of villages under the MC be stopped herewith,” the order states.

Gupta told Chandigarh Tribune that the directions had been issued following orders from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A majority of the guest houses, motels and hotels fall in Burail, Attawa, Kajheri, Mani Majra, Maloya and Dadu Majra. Earlier, in December 2014, the High Court had stayed the operation of orders for sealing the guest houses. The civic body had in November 2014 issued closure notices to 122 guest houses being run from villages.

The corporation had prepared a report on the guest houses in villages, which highlighted numerous violations in 2009. According to the report, the guest houses have been constructed on narrow village lanes. They are structurally unsafe. Some of them need to be pulled down. Many guest houses were also found to be virtual death traps with no fire safety equipment installed there. Most of them do not have parking lots. Vehicles are parked haphazardly in front of buildings, choking village roads. The report mentioned that when these guest houses were constructed, there were no building bylaws for villages.