No one shows up for PG registration

Chandigarh, February 25

Paying guest (PG) operators and building owners in Chandigarh seem to be thick-skinned as even three days after a fire mishap at an illegal PG in Sector 32, which claimed three lives, not even a single PG owner has come forward to get his or her PG accommodation registered. The issue of illegal PGs in the city was back in focus following the tragic incident.

While there are thousands of PGs operating in Chandigarh, only 25 are registered with the UT Administration.

An official said not even a single application for PG registration had been received at the Estate Office in the past two days. “We were expecting that people will come forward and get their PGs registered. However, nobody has applied for registration in the past two days,” said the official.

The Estate Office had yesterday revived helpline number 1860-1802067 where any citizen can call and provide information about any illegal paying guest facility.

Following the tragedy, the UT Administration swung into action and launched a crackdown on unauthorised PG accommodations in the city. Assistant Estate Officer Manish Kumar Lohan said instructions had been issued to expedite the process of receiving applications from owners for getting their PG accommodation registered with the condition that they fulfil the criteria laid down by the Administration.

Baljinder Singh Bittu, chairman, FOSWAC, said nearly 35,000 to 40,000 students were staying as paying guests in the city. Hardly 25 PGs were registered, he said, adding that if the Administration declared the remaining PGs as unauthorised, where would these students go. There was need to frame a new policy for registration of PG accommodations as the present guidelines were framed in 2006, he said. — TNS