Act against officials, Vigilance asks MC

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 25

The UT Vigilance Department has now asked the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation to take action against a retired employee and six officials of the MC enforcement wing and the parking branch in connection with the Vigilance probe into alleged violations by paid parking lots in the city.

The Vigilance Department has written to the MC in connection with the parking lots in Sector 17.

The staff members against whom action has been sought include sub-inspectors and inspectors of the enforcement wing, staff of the parking branch and a former superintendent of the enforcement wing.

They are KD Sharma, KC Katoch, Bhupinder Kaur and Ashok Rahi of the enforcement wing; Sunil Kumar and Pooja of the parking branch; and Kashmira Singh, retired superintendent of the enforcement wing.

This is the third report submitted by the Vigilance Department in connection with the probe into the parking lots. Earlier, reports were submitted in connection with the Elante Mall and Sector 35 parking lots. In these reports too, aciton was recommended against MC officials.

Sources said the Vigilance Department, in its report, submitted that no challans were issued for months at the paid parking lots in Sector 17 even though there were complaints of violations. Besides, satisfactory reports were given in favour of the paid parking lot contractors despite a number of violations.

The Vigilance has now written to the MC to take action against these officials and impose a major penalty on them. A senior MC official said they would take action as per rules against the officials named in the report. 

Vigilance probing violations at all parking lots

After the Elante Mall paid parking case, former UT Adviser Vijay Kumar Dev, in August last year, had ordered a Vigilance probe into overcharging and other violations at the remaining 24 parking lots in the city. On the Adviser’s directions, the Vigilance Department had initiated the probe.

Dept favoured action

The Vigilance Department, in its first inquiry report on the Elante Mall paid parking lot, had recommended departmental action against former MC Additional Commissioner Sarita Malik and three other MC officials. Thereafter, four officials were named in the Sector 35 parking lot case.  

MC had terminated licences of two contractors

After the Vigilance probe last year, the MC had terminated the licences of two parking lots — Elante Mall and Sukhna Lake — as the replies submitted by both contractors to the show-cause notices issued by the MC were found unsatisfactory.