Residents ask for more time from MC

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 16

Protesting against the demolition drive launched by the Municipal Corporation Bathinda in Sanjay Nagar and Balraj Nagar, women of the area today reached the MCB office and took up the matter with Mayor Balwant Rai Nath.

The MCB has launched the drive to demolish the houses, which have been constructed after encroaching on the ‘chhappar’ land in the area.

Accusing the state government of engaging in vote-bank politics, the women accused the MC of not doing anything of the sort before elections.

Blaming the MC and state government of first giving them the permission to construct houses on the land, Afsana, Sumitra, Surjit Kaur Resham, Pushpa, Saraswati, Gurdeep Kaur and others questioned the civic body about the motive behind the drive.

“If it was illegal to construct houses on that piece of land, then why were we allowed to do so in the first place? We belong to economically poor background and spent our savings on constructing kachha houses but the MC rendered us homeless,” they said.

Giving example of the demolition drive launched two years ago on the land of the Bathinda Improvement Trust outside its office, the women demanded that they should also be given pieces of land to construct houses the way those slum dwellers were given land in Kheta Singh Basti.

MCB unmoved

Not giving in to pressure, the Mayor denied the allegation that the MCB had given nod to the construction of houses.

He urged the residents to demolish the houses themselves or the work would be done by the MC, he added.

He said since the ‘chappar’ land needed to be cleaned else the area would be inundated with water in the monsoon season.

Turning down their demand of giving the families some time to shift their belongings before the houses are demolished, Municipal Commissioner Anil Garg said those indulging in encroachments must not expect more time.

He said the MCB had never given any permission for the constructions and hence would stick to the law to demolish the illegal dwellings.

However, on the insistence of Mayor, the MCB may give the area residents stipulated time after which the MCB will go ahead with its drive.