Chamba: Landlord locks sub-tehsil office over unpaid rent

Upset by non-payment of rent for over three years, the landlord of the rented premises housing the sub-tehsil office in Dharwala locked the office on Monday morning. When the tehsildar and office staff arrived for work, they found the premises locked from outside, effectively halting all administrative work for the day.

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According to the landlord, rent amounting to approximately Rs 2.7 lakh has been pending for the last three years and three months. Despite repeated reminders and discussions with officials and staff over this issue, no payment was made, forcing him to take the step of locking the premises.

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Tehsildar Roop Singh Negi confirmed the incident and said discussions were held with higher authorities and the landlord. The administration assured the landlord that 50% of the pending rent would be paid within a day or two, and the remaining amount by the first of the next month. Following this assurance, the landlord reopened the office, allowing staff to resume work.

Punlic faced inconvenience due to the closure of the office for most of the day. Many people who had come for revenue-related tasks were forced to wait outside or return without getting their work done.

The Dharwala sub-tehsil has been operating from a rented building since its inception in 2012. Although the government had announced the establishment of the sub-tehsil in 2011 and selected land for its permanent building, the site was later deemed unsafe. Since then, no progress has been made in constructing a new government building for the office.

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The incident has once again highlighted the challenges of operating essential government services from private buildings and the need for timely rent payments and permanent infrastructure.

Last year, a matter had come to light where parents of the children studying in a government school were paying rent for the private building from where the school was functioning.