Fate of defaulting SCF owners sealed

LUDHIANA: After dilly-dallying for a pretty long time, the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) and the Municipal Corporation would have to act as per law against owners of shop-cum-flats (SCFs) in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar and Sarabha Nagar for illegal change of land use.

Many SCFs in I-Block, (Kipps Market), Sarabha Nagar, face action for violations of building bylaws. Photo: Ashwani Dhiman

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, September 25

After dilly-dallying for a pretty long time, the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) and the Municipal Corporation would have to act as per law against owners of shop-cum-flats (SCFs) in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar and Sarabha Nagar for illegal change of land use. In partial disposal of COCP 918 of 2017, filed by Rohit Sabharwal, president of the Council of RTI Activists, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has sought a status/compliance report of action taken against the defaulting SCFs.

In his interim orders pronounced on September 24, 2018, Justice Augustine George Masih took on record the affidavits filed by LIT Chairman (on August 3, 2017) and the MC Commissioner (on July 3, 2017).

The orders say – “In the light of the said affidavit (s), there is no reason as to why the Municipal Corporation of Ludhiana should not proceed further in accordance with the law against the persons who have violated the orders passed by this court and have been identified by the Municipal Corporation.”

The Judge further ordered that let the status/compliance report be filed by the MC Commissioner within a period of four weeks detailing therein the steps taken to remove the violations as mandated by the order which is the subject matter of the present contempt petition.

In his affidavit filed before the High Court, the MC Commissioner had averred that Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar and Sarabha Nagar schemes, developed by the LIT, had been transferred to the MC for maintenance. He further stated that violations by the owners of SCFs in C and F blocks of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar and I block of Sarabha Nagar (Kipps Market) had been identified and the MC was in the process of taking action as per law against the violations.

Similarly, the LIT Chairman, through his affidavit, had intimated the HC that allotment of eight HIG flats on Maharani Jhansi Road and 31 SCFs in E block of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar had already been cancelled for violations and illegal change of land use. He had given an undertaking that further action for eviction of erstwhile allottees with assistance of the police was being taken. The case would come up for hearing on December 4.