Civic body tightens noose, to check status of 48 sealed illegal buildings

The Amritsar Municipal Corporation has tightened the noose on those indulging in illegal constructions within the Walled City. The MC has disconnected water and sewer connections of 30 out of 48 unauthorized hotels that have either been built or are under construction.

MC Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh held a meeting with the Municipal Town Planning (MTP) wing and instructed its officials to prepare and submit a current status report on all 48 structures recently. Simultaneously, he instructed the staff to send reminders to the police and the power department to expedite action against illegal constructions.

Earlier, the action was carried out in mid-February, during which the MC also wrote to the police and the electricity department, urging them to register FIRs and cut off power supply to these buildings. As the departments concerned failed to take action in the last two months, the MC is now preparing to issue fresh reminders to both the police and PSPCL, directing them to take immediate enforcement action.

Many of these illegal establishments had previously been sealed, but the construction work was resumed by the owners after breaking the seals. According to officials, such repeat violations have become common, which is why the police have been asked to initiate criminal proceedings through FIRs.

On February 13, the MC had re-sealed 30 of the buildings and formally requested the police to register FIRs. The departments responsible for water, sewerage, and electricity were also instructed to act. Following this, connections to 30 buildings were disconnected, while the process of disconnecting the remaining 18 is still pending.

The MC has also issued fresh orders to conduct another status check of all 48 buildings. Many of these structures were sealed last year as well, but most owners violated the orders and resumed construction work.

These illegal buildings are based in several key areas of the Walled City, including Maha Singh Gate, Katra Ahluwalia, Ramanand Bagh, Mai Sewa Bazar, Bakkarwana Bazar, Chowk Fawwara and various lanes in the interior parts of Maha Singh Gate and Sheranwala Gate. Other affected locations include Gol Hatti Chowk and old Improvement Trust Chowk.

The issue of illegal constructions in the Walled City has been under judicial scrutiny for years. In July 2012, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh, issued an order prohibiting the approval of any building plans in this area.

Amritsar