Vigilance seizes records of govt building

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 19

The Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau has confiscated records pertaining to the government building given on lease to Mayor Davinder Jaggi.

Some councillors had filed a written complaint in this regarding with Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur who had marked an inquiry into the complaint to the Vigilance Department, said sources.

Superintendent of Police (Vigilance), Kangra, Arul Kumar, admitted that the records pertaining to the case had been confiscated and inquiry was going on.

In the complaint, the councillors had alleged that the building had been constructed on the Municipal Corporation (MC) land with the Union Government funds, which were meant for the construction of a rest house for employees.

While the MC was getting nearly Rs 20,000 as rent for the building, but the tenant, the current Mayor, was earning lakhs as rent by effecting illegal changes in the original structure.

The councillors also alleged that the building was leased out to the Mayor in 2005. The then lease rules did not allow the leasee to further sublet the land to anybody. However, in violation of the lease rules, the then Executive Officer of the Dharamsala Municipal Council entered a clause in the agreement that the leasee could further sublease the building.

The complainants alleged that the lease deed, which was vetted by the Law Department was totally different from what was executed.

The Mayor had constructed showrooms and office complexes in the building taken on lease from the council without getting the land use changed from the state government, the complainants had alleged.

The complainants alleged that the Mayor had constructed an illegal hotel on the building and now, efforts were being made to get the hotel regularised. “In the current development plan of Dharamsala, the building has been shown as part of the office of the Municipal Corporation,” the complainants alleged.

Mayor Davinder Jaggi was not available for comments and his mobile phone was switched off.