Expecting the Phagwara Municipal Corporation to clear encroachments from public property may be asking for too much as the civic body is not even able to evict encroachers from properties under its direct control.

The police are illegally occupying the MC’s guest house for the past 31 years despite being asked to move out.

The office of the DSP, presently the SP office, is functioning from the guest house. But given the power that the police yields, no authority in the corporation has been able to get the premises vacated.

The Tribune has learnt that the former Nagar Council had passed resolutions and submitted a memorandum to the Punjab DGP and Principal Secretary, Local Bodies, more than 17 years back to initiate the necessary steps to get the guest house vacated.

Although the new police complex, including offices and residences, has been constructed near Gurdwara Shri Sukhchain Sahib, the police do not seem to be in a mood to vacate the guest house.

Superintendent of Police, Phagwara, Rupinder Kaur Bhatti expressed her ignorance saying she joined her duty in this office and, moreover, the MC never asked her to vacate the guest house. Even the police have encroached on the PRTC land and is running the traffic police post on the bus stand land for the last several years.

Another significant encroachment, which the MC has not been able to do anything about, is on a large portion of the MC premises by the City Club for the past 48 years. Its lease expired in 1976.

The City Club, which is headed by the Deputy Commissioner, Kapurthala, who is the permanent president of the club, was paying a token rent of Re 1 to the council till 23 years ago when the then NC president Kharaiti Lal Gaba hiked it to Rs 100 per month, whereas the present market rate of the area is more than Rs 3 lakh per month. The

Municipal Corporation authorities said neither was the club renewing its lease, nor considering increasing the lease rent. However, they would take up the matter soon, he said.