MCB officials in a fix on cracking the whip on illegal buildings

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, June 17

Officials of the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) are in a fix over taking action against the illegal buildings constructed under political patronage in the city as the civic body has started taking action after Minister for Local Bodies Navjot Singh Sidhu’s directions and suspension of various MC officials in Jalandhar.

MCB teams demolished two illegal buildings in the city on Saturday and will intensify its drive from Monday. Five illegal shops were demolished at Jujhar Singh Nagar besides one located at Mansa road. When the MCB team went to demolish a building in Jujhar Singh Nagar, senior leaders of the local unit of the Congress also reached the spot and entered into heated arguments with the MCB officials over the demolition of the building.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior MCB official said, “We are in a fix because if we don’t act against the illegal buildings, the Local Bodies Minister and the department concerned will initiate action against us and if we act, then the local politicians will not allow us to do so.”

Deputy Mayor Gurinderpal Kaur Mangat said, “The MCB team should demolish all illegal buildings in the city, no pick and choose policy should be followed. I have been raising my voice against illegal buildings coming up on Goniana road near Adarsh Nagar. But till date, nothing has been done.”

XEN Sandeep Gupta, who also holds the additional charge of Senior Town Planner (STP) said, “New illegal buildings were coming up in the city, so they have been demolished. In future as well, if any illegal building comes up, they will be demolished.”

It is pertinent to mention that many illegal buildings have come up in the last ten years in the city and even 1,383 notices were issued by the department during this period. But there are 533 cases in which the MCB building branch issued notices under section 269 of Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, to demolish the illegal building. But nothing much seems to have been done on this despite the notices having been issued.

It has also come to notice that various big hospitals, beer bars and showrooms have come up in the city without getting their map approved or in violation of bylaws but no action has been taken by the building branch.

Ever since STP Kamaljit Kaur took charge last month in office, she has been collecting information on illegal buildings in the city. She even held a meeting with the officials of the building branch and told them to prepare a zone-wise list of notices issued to illegal buildings in the city.