Principal Secretary, LIT, civic body put on notice
On Friday, the Public Action Committee (PAC) has served a legal notice on the Principal Secretary of the Local Bodies Department, Municipal Corporation and Improvement Trust, Ludhiana, for their act of repeated encroachments over green belts and parks by continuing to construct buildings which are prohibited by the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal.
Kuldeep Singh Khaira and Dr Amandeep Singh Bains said Ludhiana was one of the critically polluted cities having shortage of parks and green belts in the old city area as well as illegally developed new colonies in active connivance with the MC and GLADA but despite such serious issues, the civic body and the Trust are still continuing to reduce the green area (parks and green belts) by continuing to construct buildings.
Er Kapil Arora and Gurpreet Singh Plaha said despite directions to demolish similar buildings in Ludhiana, such moves were still being made by the MC and LIT, which clearly indicates that they were habitual offenders and had no respect for court as well as its orders. Officials of the MC and LIT seem to be pleasing politicians rather than performing their lawful duties, they said.
The MC Zone-D extension building has already been demolished following the orders of the NGT and there are also orders to demolish the library building constructed in a park on Old GT Road. However, despite such orders, the MC is spending public money on construction of similar buildings over land of green areas on Old GT Road, Barewal Awana, Dog Park at BRS Nagar, library building at Janta Nagar and other places.
Er Jaskirat Singh and Preet Dhanao from the PAC said complaints were filed against impugned constructions on the m-Sewa portal but the voice had not reached the deaf ears. “Not even a single environmental project is being properly handled and managed by these offices and they are passing the buck. The construction of buildings in green belt is a sheer wastage of public money and the entire money should be recovered from the authorities concerned who gave nod to such illegal constructions,” said Dhanao.
The PAC members said they had given three weeks to departments and in case action was not taken for restitution of green belts and parks, they would move the NGT.
