Slew of concessions for marriage palaces

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 20

The government today announced a host of concessions and relief to marriage palace owners in the state.

On the directions of CM Capt Amarinder Singh, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has agreed to simplify the grant of conditional NoCs, compound up to 5 per cent of the parking area, review of parking norms, rationalise regularisation charges, reconsider payment of compounding charges by marriage palaces built before 2007 and extension in the validity of the existing regularisation policy.

The ACS, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Vini Mahajan, during a meeting with the marriage palace owners of the state in Mohali, said, “We have considered their genuine demands,” she told TNS at PUDA Bhavan in Sector 62 this evening. “Issues that required an amendment in the policy/laws would be discussed with the CM, who holds the HUD portfolio,” she added.

The Marriage Palace Owners’ Association demanded that CLU charges and other charges paid by them shall be at par with those paid by the hotel industry. The association also demanded that such charges should not be applicable to the marriage palaces constructed before 2007 because there was no such policy framework at that time and the cut-off date was November 16, 2012.

The regularisation policy notified on August 16, 2016 mandates the government to claim CLU, EDC, PF and SIF on specified rates for regularisation of existing marriage palaces in the state.

1,500 illegal palaces

Office-bearers of the association said there were more than 1,500 marriage palaces, which were illegally operating in the state. They offered to provide a list of such places to the department for initiating necessary action.

1,093 apply, 107 regularised

Of 1,180 marriage palaces outside municipal limits in the state, 1,093 had applied for regularisation under the existing policy. A committee constituted for the purpose has declared 107 marriage palaces as regular and 364 have been granted change of land use (CLU). Demand notices have been issued to 340 applicants and 147 building plans have been approved. Combining various components of the compounding fees, the department has received Rs 38.84 crore so far.