Chandigarh: Issues ‘ignored’, biz community wants parties to field local faces

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

Members of the Joint Forum of Industrial Associations have alleged that political leadership and UT officials had been completely ignoring their long-pending demands for the past more than 15 years.

The forum is a body of 10 industrial, commercial and traders associations.

Talking to mediapersons here today, they said they were promised before every election that their demands would be fulfilled. They even included their demands in the election manifesto, but never implemented it, they added. Members of the forum demanded that the political parties should field candidates from the city for the Lok Sabha election this time who could understand their issues and take these up with the Central Government.

They said they had been demanding for a long time that leasehold units be converted into freehold with setting rights of titles of the plots in the Industrial Area, misuse and building violation notices in the Industrial Area should be withdrawn, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act should be implemented in toto in Chandigarh and floor area ratio should be increased as it had not been raised for the past four decades.

Arun Mahajan, President of Industries Association of Chandigarh, said. “Before every elections, they promised us that they would fulfill our demands, but even after two decades, we are at the same place and running from pillar to post to get our demands fulfilled. Our all demands are genuine.”

Chander Verma, chairman, Industrial Converted Plot Owners Association, said, “We want the powers delegated to the UT Administrator by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Every time we are told file is pending with the MHA. We are a harassed lot.”

MPS Chawla, president, Chandigarh Industrial Association, said, “We want this time, the candidates for the parliamentary election should be local faces, who should know the issues of city and help us in resolving them.”

“We are fighting this battle for the past two decades, but officials and political leaders have never bothered to resolve our issues. As far as the issue of conversion of leasehold units to freehold is concerned, Delhi and Nagpur have done it. We have failed to understand why it is not being done in Chandigarh. In the past years, we have held several meetings with the officials and political leaders concerned, but got only assurances,” said Surinder Gupta, president, Chamber of Chandigarh Industries.

Delegate powers to UT Administrator

We are a harassed lot. Every time we are told that the file is pending with the Ministry of Home Affairs. We want the MHA to delegate powers to the UT Administrator. — Chander Verma, chairman, Industrial Converted Plot Owners’ Assn

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