Sangrur club runs kitchen, generators sans NOC

Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, October 24

The Maharaja Ranbir Club here has been running power generators and a commercial kitchen without the mandatory no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the Nagar Council.

Residents living in the vicinity of the heritage club say they have been facing inconvenience due to the noise of generators and the smoke billowing from the kitchen. They claim to have brought the matter to the notice of the authorities, but to no avail.

Harwinder Singh Sekhon (86), whose house is at the rear of the club, said: “I sought information from the Nagar Council under the RTI Act and it came to light that the club had not taken NOCs for the generators and the commercial kitchen. Senior officers, who are members of the club, are misusing their positions to run the kitchen and generators illegally.”

Residents alleged that some times, generators were turned on during night without break.

“An NOC is a must if anyone wants to run a kitchen for commercial purposes and instal generators. It’s strange that the club has not sought the NOCs,” said Sarjiwan Jindal, a BJP councillor from ward 20.

The club is located in his ward. When contacted on the phone on Monday, club assistant manager Mandeep Singh refused to speak on the issue. Later, a text message was sent to him, but it also drew no response. “In spite of repeated complaints by residents, no action has been taken. This shows how powerful the officers are,” said another resident.

Sangrur SDM Avikesh Gupta, who is an ex officio member of the club, said he was unaware of the problems residents were facing.

He, however, assured to look into the matter. “I will first check the details and then comment. I will take appropriate action,” he added.