Tainted MC officials to face action

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 8

The unregulated growth of illegal hotels around the Golden Temple will take its toll on MC officials, too.

For, according to the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Municipal Corporation (MC) is now initiating the process of tightening the noose around some of its officials. MC Commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal said action was being initiated at the government level.

It was on August 22, that the court had granted three months’ time to charge sheet the tainted MC officials during whose tenure the illegal commercial units, including the hotels, the guest houses or even the inns, mushroomed around the holiest shrine.

According to the court directions, a committee was constituted under the tutelage of a retired judge that had conducted an inquiry regarding the role of these officials. The inquiry is on the verge of completion and the MC has already served the charge sheet to 31 tainted officials of the Municipal Town Planning Department, sources said.

The action-taken report, too, will have to be submitted on December 19.

It is learnt that the role of as many as 33 officials, holding the rank of Municipal Town Planners, Assistant Town Planners and building inspectors had come under the scanner. Meanwhile, some of them have been transferred and some promoted to higher ranks.

According to information, one Senior Town Planner (STP), two Municipal Town Planners (MTPs) and 10 Assistant Town Planners (ATPs) are under threat. The sources said that as immediate action, these officials might face suspension or deferment of promotion.

Sarbjit Singh Verka, a local resident, who had challenged the operation of these illegal hotels in 2010, alleged that officials of the Municipal Town Planning wing of the MC had taken bribes running into lakhs of rupees for turning a blind eye to illegal operations of over 100 hotels, guest houses and inns in the Galliara area.

Meanwhile, of the 21 units, the MC is geared up to seal 15 hotels, guest houses and inns. The rest of the six will enjoy immunity for time being as their caretakers had already procured stay orders during the hearing in the high court.

Earlier, the MC, too, had filed a report on its failure to carry out the sealing drive owing to the law and order situation during the last hearing in August.

Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said action would be taken, according to the high court directions. “Whichever official was involved in any illegal practice in this instance, he will be taken to task, going by the norms. We are bound to abide by the high court directions and the action-taken report has to be produced before the high court,” he said.