Grand Walk Mall file goes missing from MC record
LUDHIANA: A day after the Punjab and Haryana high court stayed the demolition notice against illegal construction on the sixth floor of the Grand Walk Mall here, a file regarding the mall has gone missing from the local municipal corporation (MC) office.
A senior MC official told HT that composition fee was charged by the civic body for some violations at the mall. The file contains information regarding fee receipts and also details about the nature of violation.
The mall is owned by Gurdeep Singh, managing director of Fastway Cable Network and a close associate of former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.
The Sarabha Nagar police station has confirmed that a complaint regarding the missing file has been received by it. Following instructions from the high authorities of local bodies department, the MC had on Saturday carried out an inspection at the mall and detected various violations, including illegal construction and encroachment outside the mall.
The MC then took action against the mall for encroachment on a land that was being used as parking site outside the mall.
On Wednesday, the MC had served a notice to the mall authorities, instructing them to demolish the illegal construction on sixth floor of the mall within three days, failing which it will conduct a sealing drive.
The high court on Thursday stayed demolition notices slapped on Grand Walk Mall by the MC and put the state government as well as the civic body on notice for August 23.
On Friday, a team of senior MC officials was called by local bodies department officials for a meeting to discuss the future plan in this regard.
Despite HT’s repeated attempts, MC commissioner Jaskiran Singh and MC additional commissioner Vishesh Sarangal were not available for comments.
SENIOR TOWN PLANNER TRANSFERRED
Meanwhile, the state government on Friday transferred Ludhiana senior town planner Kamaljeet Kaur to Pathankot in the wake of the controversy over the Grand Walk Mall.
The order was issued by additional chief secretary Satish Chandra.