Jammu, July 12: Former minister and state president JKNPP Harsh Dev Singh on Wednesday called on the Director Local Bodies Puneet Sharma and submitted him a memorandum pertaining to the issues faced by the people in various municipal bodies of district Udhampur.
Singh, according to a statement issued here, complained about the alleged harassment being doled out to the local traders of Ramnagar, Chenani and Udhampur and notices of eviction being served upon them. He said the small and marginal businessmen had been allotted shops and other commercial establishments by the department of local bodies under a proper procedure and after payment of the requisite premium as settled by the concerned authorities. “The traders had also been paying the prescribed rent on a monthly/annual basis as per the terms of the agreement. The service of notices upon them was therefore unwarranted and unjustified and needed due attention of the authorities concerned,” he said.
The JKNPP president pointed out, “Contrarily some municipal assets in MC Udhampur had been placed at the disposal of some blue-eyed favourites and some politicians without adhering to proper allotment procedures as laid down under the Act causing huge losses to the state exchequer. Likewise, some constructions had been raised in prohibited areas and Green Zones in Udhampur town by land mafia with the Municipal authorities having shut their eyes to such grave irregularities only to favour such violators.”
“Rather than booking such delinquents for brazen defiance of norms and municipal laws and for violations of construction-related laws in municipal bodies, the department was punishing innocent traders and those small businessmen who had been allotted shops under a proper procedure and after proper agreement with the department,” he said.
Singh urged the Director Local Bodies to order a probe into the alleged loot of funds earmarked for Devika Project and sewerage and drainage of the Udhampur town.
