Ludhiana: Building bylaws, NHAI norms being violated with impunity

Kuldip Bhatia
Ludhiana, June 4

In a gross violation of building bylaws and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) guidelines, an under-construction building is being raised without an approved building plan from the Municipal Corporation (MC) and an NOC from the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA). The building reportedly belongs to a senior government official.

Balwinder Singh Sekhon, a former DSP, had filed a complaint with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari alleging that the NHAI officials had granted possession of government land to the owner of the under-construction hotel building along Sidhwan Canal which was proposed to be used as parking space by the builder.

“Norms have been bent to divert the RCC (box) drain and drain has been covered at zero level height to provide access to the private property from carriageway. The statutory requirement of construction of a separating wall has been done away with. The building is being raised in violation of building bylaws without approval from the MC and an NOC from the GLADA,” said the complainant.

While officials concerned of the MC claimed that the violations were compounded and change of land use (CLU) charges were also recovered from the builder, sources in the NHAI corroborated the allegations levelled in the complaint.

After the inspection of the site by senior NHAI officials an official memo was written to the construction agency of Ladhowal Bypass Highway-Eastern Infra (on April 9, 2021), in which it was pointed that at several locations of project site footpath-cum-drain had been flushed with road levels.

“Direct access to the private properties has been made available which are having no authorised permission. It is a clear violation of concession agreement and the ministry guidelines,” the memo said.

The concessionaire was also directed to rectify the footpath-cum-drain as per approved drawing and submit compliance report at the earliest. However, as things stood now, these directions were ignored by the construction agency after resistance reportedly put up by the politically-connected builder.

The complainant has sought a probe into the matter.