NOC applicants a harried lot, PUDA server glitch to blame

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 28

Applicants at PUDA offices across the state are a harassed lot as they are not getting NOCs for their plots for the past over a month due to a problem in the server.

Palwinder Juneja, an industrialist, said, “I had bought a plot near the Pathankot road recently and wish to raise an industrial unit on it. I need NOC from the authorities before going ahead. I have been making rounds of the Jalandhar Development Authority office to get my work done, but to no avail. My project has got stuck and the only reply I get is that it is a pan-state problem and will be rectified from the office headquarters in Mohali.”

Another applicant Bakshish Singh said, “I am also waiting to get an NOC from PUDA for my plot near the Nakodar road, which I have to sell. The buyer is insisting on an NOC. I have been contacting everyone, including officials in Mohali, but to no avail. I am being told that there is an issue between two private banks for processing the fee due to which the work has been stuck. I have been asking if my file can be cleared on offline mode, but was told that this process has been stopped.”

The staff at PUDA office said the state government was suffering a loss of Rs 12 lakh to Rs 15 lakh per day due to the delay in getting the problem rectified. The fee for getting NOC varies depending on the size of the plot.

Navneet Bal, Estate Officer, Jalandhar Development Authority, said, “We have been getting a lot of query, but the problem is at the end of the head office. We have apprised them of the issue and expect it to be rectified soon”.

MS Jaggi, Chief Administrator, PUDA, said the issue was being dealt with by the Chief Town Planner (CTP) office.

However, Pankaj Bawa, CTP, said the problem had nothing to do with his office and was to be handled by the PUDA office.