MTP Dept acts against unauthorised hotels in Central Zone

In a crackdown against unauthorised constructions, the Municipal Town Planning (MTP) Department of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation sealed eight hotels that were being built without the approved building maps. The action was taken on the directions of MC Commissioner Bikramjit Singh Shergill.

The sealing drive was conducted under the supervision of Municipal Town Planner Narinder Sharma, with Assistant Town Planners (ATPs) Parminderjit Singh and Manjeet Singh, Building Inspectors Navjot Kaur and Vikas Gautam, along with field staff. The operation covered areas of the Central Zone, including Ghee Mandi, Shera Wala Gate, Bakarwana Bazaar, and the vicinity of the old Improvement Trust office.

MTP Narinder Sharma stated that the campaign against illegal constructions will continue without interruption. “No one will be allowed to raise buildings without approved plans. If anyone is found breaking seals and resuming construction work, a police case will be registered against them,” he said.

However, social activist pointed out that this issue is not new. Hundreds of illegal hotels have mushroomed in the walled city over the past decade, allegedly with the connivance of some officials. Such structures often bypass safety norms and civic regulations, posing serious risks to public safety.

The MTP Department usually conducts occasional drives, sealing a few under-construction properties. But hotel owners often break the seals and complete their buildings, while officials issue warnings and paperwork continues without concrete results. Despite repeated actions and public complaints, no exemplary punishment or demolition has taken place in the past ten years.

Civic activists argue that without strict follow-up and accountability, such drives will remain eyewash. The recent action has once again brought attention to the growing menace of unregulated hotels in the city’s old quarters, raising questions about consistent enforcement and transparency within the municipal system.