6 years on, PDA fails to act against bylaw violations

Tribune News Service

Ravneet Singh

Patiala, August 21

For six years, the Patiala Development Authority (PDA) has been sitting on a file and has failed to start action against compoundable and non-compoundable violations in the construction of a few commercial establishments under its ambit.

Only notices, no action

'The PDA has merely been issuing notices to the owners. In case the owners pay the fee to get the compoundable violations cleared, they would have to make huge payments up to Rs 1 crore. We suspect PDA officers are hand in glove with owners.' A complainant

In fact, the PDA has issued repeated notices to the owners in the past many years. The complainants, local residents alleged that many such files were stuck up in the office, while the officers concerned had been giving the owners a preferential treatment.

Residents of Urban Estate, Phase 2, said they had complained to the PDA against illegal constructions at commercial buildings which had been carried out at a distance of 200 metre from the PDA office.

As per the documents in possession of The Tribune, the PDA issued first notices to the owners of two commercial buildings, SCOs 37 and 38, in December 2017.

It pointed out that the constructions on the fifth floors were non-compoundable and were in violation of the building bylaws and the allotment letter. It also threatened action in case the violations were not removed within 15 days after the notice. The office had issued similar follow-up notices in 2020, 2021, 2022 and in May this year.

Sundar Singh, one of the complainants in the case, said in a similar case, the PDA had failed to act against compoundable and non-compoundable violations, including erection of multiple mobile network towers without permission at SCO 39 and 40, for a long time.

“The PDA has merely been issuing notices to the owners without having started action against them for years. In case the owners pay the fee to get the compoundable violations cleared, they would have to make huge payments up to Rs 1 crore. But we suspect the PDA officers are hand in glove with the owners. In fact, there are numerous such violations in the area under the PDA,” he said.

Chief Administrator, PDA, Gurpreet Singh Thind said the matter falls under the PDA Estate Officer’s jurisdiction. He would direct the Estate Officer to look into it and respond. The office of Estate Officer Deepjot Kaur failed to comment over the matter despite the CA’s assurance.

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