Local Government Minister orders stringent action against to be found guilty

·      Officers not obeying orders issued on 7th July, 2018 regarding keeping approval to plan in suspension

Chandigarh, February 22:

The Local Government Minister, Punjab, has ordered stringent action against the officers guilty of willful disobedience of the orders issued by him on 7th July, 2018 regarding keeping the matter of according approval to Plan 98-C of the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana in abeyance and sending the CLU case further ahead by forging the documents. The minister has directed the Principal Secretary of the department to take prompt action in the matter.

Making disclosure with regard to the matter, Mr. Sidhu said that the orders concerning the probe were given him and the probe report has yielded that the land whose CLU and plan was got approved, the registry of that land was forged and Khasra Numbers changed. The minister said that the CLU was applied for on 17th of January, 2018 in which the documents were forged. He added that the registry was done 2 days later on the 19th of January, 2018 whereas it is mandatory that at the time of applying for the CLU to attach the registry. The concerned officials without verifying the registry documents sent the case for CLU approval. Mr. Sidhu further added that due to the difference in the khasra number of registry done 2 days after the applying for CLU the front page of the documents attached at the time of applying for CLU was changed by forgery whereas the details such as Khasra No. etc remained same in the other documents. 

The minister further elaborated that the probe conducted by the then ADC (General) Mr. Iqbal Singh Sandhu confirmed that the date of registration is 19th of January, 2018 whereas the CLU case was applied on the 17th of January, 2018. This means that the applicant was not the owner of the land at the time of applying. The report also said that how can the CLU of the land, whose registry was done on the 19th of January, 2018, be done without ownership 2 days before. 

Mr. Sidhu also divulged that the case pertaining to the plan number 98-C of the Municipal Corporation Ludhiana was brought to his notice during July, 2018 according to which the plan was approved on the 11th of June, 2018 without redressing grievances. He further added that acting promptly, he wrote to the Principal Secretary Local Government on 9th of July, 2018 directing him to get the matter thoroughly probed by DSP Municipal Corporation Ludhiana and submit the report to him (The Local Government Minister) within one month through the Chief Vigilance Officer, Local Government Department.

The minister further added that the probe conducted by the DSP Municipal Corporation brought to the fore that the officers of the Municipal Corporation Ludhiana and the headquarter of Local Government Department okayed the CLU case and put the same up for approval before him without going in for the verification of any of the facts and without redressing the complaints received in this regard. 

The minister also said that he had in his then orders ordered the thorough probe besides keeping the approval to the plan in abeyance. He also said that despite the orders the construction work kept continuing whereas he had promptly ordered the approval of the plan to be kept in abeyance. The minister considering the gravity of the matter gave orders to the Principal Secretary to take stringent action against the guilty officers.