Soon, e-challans to shopkeepers, vendors for encroachment in Chandigarh

Sandeep Rana

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 2

The enforcement wing of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation will soon start issuing e-challans to shopkeepers and vendors for encroachment in the city.

It will be for the first time that the enforcement wing will be using an app to issue e-challans to shopkeepers and vendors in the city. Staff will click pictures of violation outside shops or of vendors and will send the challan to violators.

Violators will be able to pay challan on the spot. With the help of the app, officials need not to seize goods and take the items to the store. It will reduce unnecessary burden on the Municipal Corporation and also save its money.

MC officials said it would bring a transparency in the system. They would also be able to keep a track on the location of its officials.

“The app is being tested. Once the testing is complete, it will be launched in the city. We hope that this system goes a long way in bringing transparency and improving the efficiency of officials,” said MC Joint Commissioner Sorabh Arora, who is heading the enforcement wing.

According to MC officials, they have issued a record number of challans to the violators in the past two months.

In July, a whopping sum of Rs17 lakh was recovered from challans for encroachments. In August, an amount of Rs16 lakh was earned through these challans.

“I have been holding review meetings twice a month and discussing that how many challans have been issued and what action has been initiated against the violators. I have asked the staff to issue challans again and again to those violating the norms repeatedly,” the Joint Commissioner said.

Meanwhile, the officials said they had been strict with the violators. Most of the shopkeepers rue that due to the pandemic, their business had been affected drastically and the challaning drive was affecting their business. They seek leniency from the officials. However, the enforcement staff said they were tough against the violators.

Shopkeepers display their goods in the corridor leaving any space for the visitors to walk in the markets. Some of them have tied ropes in front of their shops in the name of social distancing. The violators are issued a challan for Rs2,000.

However, in the past such drives had a little impact as shopkeepers pay the fine and again indulge in violations. Vendors too are penalised if they do not sit at the allotted place or if they display their goods outside the designated space.