Arki Nagar Panchayat vice-prez disqualified

Tribune News Service

Solan, May 24

The Director, Urban Development, has disqualified the vice-president of the Arki Nagar Panchayat for encroaching upon government land and constructing a three-storey house there.

The issue came to the fore when Anuj Gupta, member from Ward number 4, submitted a complaint to the state government in December 2022 against Surender Sharma, member from Ward number 2, that the latter had encroached upon 123.49 sq m of government land.

The complaint was forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner, who instructed the Arki SDM to inquire into it. A fact-finding inquiry was conducted by the tehsildar, who took note of the ownership records. It was found that three patches of the land measuring 123.49 sq m belonged to the Public Works Department and the Arki Nagar Panchayat in the official records, but Sharma and his family had encroached upon it.

Sharma was given an opportunity to present his case but since encroachment was established, he was disqualified on May 18 for encroachment under Section 16(2)(ii) of the HP Municipal Act, 1994, by the Director, Urban Development.

Sharma was recently elevated as the vice-president of the Arki Nagar Panchayat. He was among two BJP-supported ward members in the nagar panchayat.

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