Jalandhar: Latifpura meet remains inconclusive, yet again

Tribune News Service

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, January 18

Two days after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, at a meeting in Chandigarh, directed the Jalandhar administration to resolve the issues arising post Latifpura demolitions, especially in view of the coming MC elections, officials and local MLAs held a meeting with affected families at Circuit House this evening.

However, the two-hour parleys over their rehabilitation once again remained inconclusive. Members of the Latifpura Rehabilitation Joint Morcha came out of the meeting and burnt an effigy of the state government and the Jalandhar Improvement Trust (JIT). On Monday last, they had also blocked the Phagwara-Jalandhar highway and the railway track near Rama Mandi for over four hours as part of their ongoing agitation.

The issue has become a major headache for the government, especially since prominent leaders of all opposition parties have expressed their sympathies with the affected 27 families since the December 9 demolition of their houses by the JIT.

“The families had lost their case in Sthe upreme Court and the JIT was facing contempt of court proceedings in the Punjab and Haryana High Court which had ordered razing of these houses,” JIT officials have been maintaining, citing their “compulsion”.

While the administration has time and again offered a 2 BHK flat in the Jalandhar Improvement Trust scheme area about 10 km from the site worth approximately Rs 10 lakh each, they are not ready to move from here and have been insisting that they be rehabilitated in the Model Town area abutting the site. The desperation of the officials is also evident as they even offered to give additional financial help in the form of fee of their school or college-going children, but they refused

to budge.

The rehabilitation offer is being given to only five families who do not have property in Jalandhar. Of the remaining 27, one of the litigants is learnt to be the owner of seven rice mills in Sultanpur Lodhi and another is learnt to be a coloniser already owning a house in Model Town. The officials are of the opinion that these two persons, along with representatives of a farmers’ union and a farm labourers’ association were using the five genuine beneficiaries to dilly-dally the matter and push for rehabilitation at the same site.

This was the fourth unsuccessful meeting between officials and the 14 representatives of the Latifpura Murr Waseba Sanjha Morcha. Deputy Commissioner Jaspreet Singh convened the meeting in which Commissioner of Police S Bhoopathi was also present.

Meanwhile, the Jalandhar police may register a fraud case against litigant Dinesh Dhir for allegedly getting 10 fake registries entered in his name from the Latifpura site. The registries that he possessed reportedly did not had khasra numbers.

Dhir came for a meeting at the Circuit House this evening, but was not allowed to be a part of it. The state government is mulling action against another litigant, who reportedly owns an Audi car.

Litigant owner of 7 rice mills

• The rehabilitation offer is being given to only five families who do not have property in Jalandhar
• Of the remaining 27, one of the litigants is learnt to be the owner of seven rice mills in Sultanpur Lodhi
• Another is learnt to be a coloniser already owning a house in Model Town

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