No check on construction of illegal buildings at SBS Nagar

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, September 23

It seems officials of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) have become completely oblivious to blatant violations of the building bylaws at Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar, a high-end colony on Pakhowal Road here, as illegal commercial structures continue to come up in the residential areas with impunity.

Not only this, building owners were also committing other serious and non-compoundable violations like illegal change of land use, construction without an approved building plan, cent percent coverage and clubbing of two residential plots to construct commercial complex while officials concerned, including the field staff and their supervisors, are in a deep slumber.

Irked over continuous commercial activity in the residential areas, Arvind Sharma and many other residents of SBS Nagar have filed a complaint with the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary, Local Government and the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO), Local Government, Punjab, calling for issuing directions to officials of the LIT to take action as per the law against violations of building bylaws, and especially construction of commercial buildings/complexes in the residential areas of the colony.

Residents stated in the complaint that commercial buildings were proliferating in C, D, G and H blocks of the colony without any fear of the law.

“The ongoing construction of illegal building is not only leading to haphazard growth and disturbing the peace of residents, but also causing huge financial loss to the state exchequer. Builders have also removed grills installed alongside pavements in block C and E of the colony to gain access to the main road,” said complainants. Affected residents of the area wondered as to how all this construction of commercial buildings was going on because as per the building norms in normal course, officials concerned were supposed to inspect all under-construction structures to issue completion certificate at the foundation level, then till the door level and finally at the lintel level.

Residents of SBS Nagar have demanded that the menace of illegal commercial buildings in the colony be sternly curbed, a probe be initiated to fix responsibility of guilty employees and officials and violators be brought to the book.