Amritsar, May 29
A day after the publication of news in The Tribune about the blatant violation of building bylaws the Local Bodies Department has detected 8500 more legal notices which were “suppressed” all over the state during the five-year tenure of the SAD-BJP Government and decided to hand over the case to the Vigilance Bureau.
During the statewide investigations made by the Local Bodies Department, it was found that the racket detected in Amritsar (where 3156 cases were hushed up), the cancer of bylaws violation had spread in the rest of the corporations as well. The Jalandhar Municipal Corporation topped the list with 7080 legal notices, which were to be complied within 72 hours but could not be implemented even in five years. According to sources, eight officials of the Vigilance Department had been deputed to detect the ‘lost files’ in other districts.
Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, Minister, Local Bodies, said he would initiate deterrent legal action against all those who would be found guilty of “suppressing” the legal notices for years together. Without naming Mr Balramji Dass Tandon, his predecessor and senior BJP leader, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh said he would ensure that everybody involved in this “biggest scam” of the department was booked.
When contacted, Mr Sarvesh Kaushal, Secretary, Local Government, said he had directed the Commissioners of the respective corporations to lodge FIRs against the ‘guilty officials’ within seven days. The entire record pertaining to the suppression of legal notices would be handed over to the Vigilance Bureau so that cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act could be registered at the earliest. The connivance of then Commissioners, Mayors of the corporations was being established who got the legal notices pushed under the carpet for years.
For the first time, the Architect Council of India is being approached to initiate action against the architects concerned who supervised the multi-storeyed buildings constructed in gross violation of the bylaws. Mr Kaushal said the state government would initiate action against such architects since they had indulged in ‘professional misconduct’ and allowed the construction of buildings in violation of the bylaws. “Wherever they (architects) were found to be party to the criminal conspiracy, they would be clubbed with the accused for criminal conspiracy under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code”, Mr Kaushal said. His department, he said, would ensure that the licences of the ‘guilty architects’ were cancelled under the Indian Architect Act, 1972.
“Henceforth the building plans of all commercial buildings shall be signed by the Commissioners concerned in ink so that the subsequent substitution of building plans with the connivance of lower officials is ruled out,” Mr Kaushal said.
Taking a serious view, the Secretary, Local Government, said the delegation of authority by the Commissioners to Municipal Town Planners (MTPs) or other officials did not mean that they could also delegate the responsibility.
