MC blind to trespasses on its own territories

PHAGWARA: Expecting the Phagwara Municipal Corporation to clear encroachments from public property may be asking for too much as the civic body has not even been able to evict encroachers from properties under its direct control

Updated At : 06:26 AM Apr 05, 2016 IST

Ashok Kaura

Phagwara, April 4

Expecting the Phagwara Municipal Corporation to clear encroachments from public property may be asking for too much as the civic body has not even been able to evict encroachers from properties under its direct control.

Even the prestigious City Club, which is headed by Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner as an ex-officio president of the club, has been occupying a large portion of the MC premises for the past 40 years. The club land was given out on a lease which expired way back in 1976.

The City Club was paying a token rent of Re 1 to the council till 15 years ago when the then Municipal Council president Kharaiti Lal Gaba hiked it to Rs 100 per month. The present market rate of the area, however, is more than Rs 1.25 lakh per month. The Municipal Corporation authorities said neither the club was renewing its lease nor considering increasing the lease rent. However, they would take up the matter soon.

In yet another case in point, the police are illegally occupying the MC’s guest house for the past 25 years despite being asked to move out. The office of the DSP, and presently the SP office, is functioning from the guest house. But given the power that the police yield, no authority in the corporation has been able to get the premises vacated.

The Tribune has learnt that the previous Municipal Council had passed resolutions and submitted a memorandum to the Punjab DGP and Principal Secretary, Local Bodies, more than nine years back to initiate the necessary steps to get the guest house vacated.

Although the new police complex, including offices and residences, has been constructed near Gurdwara Sukhchain Sahib, the police still do not seem to be in a mood to vacate the guest house.

Ashwini Kumar, SP Phagwara, said the Municipal Council never asked him to vacate the guest house.

However, the SP disclosed that the office-cum-residences of Additional Deputy Commissioner Phagwara and SP Phagwara were being constructed on Phagwara-Hoshiarpur Road Chowk near a veterinary hospital. The police, too, have encroached the land of the PRTC and is running a traffic police office on the Phagwara Bus Stand land for the past several years.