Capt defends Channi, UT sets up probe panel
ROAD ON GREEN BELT Admn official says UT to issue a notice to Punjab technical education minister after getting the ground report
as chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has defended his cabinet colleague technical education minister Charanjit Channi for “illegally” constructing a road on a green belt to get east-facing entry to his official residence in Sector 2, Chandigarh, the UT administration has set up a panel to look into the violations.
“After getting the ground report, the UT administration will issue a notice to the minister,” said a senior official of the Chandigarh administration’s home department, requesting anonymity.
The HT report published on Tuesday revealed how Channi had encroached upon the green belt following an astrologer’s advice for an east-facing entry to his official residence for an auspicious tenure. The minister constructed a road outside his house using interlocking tiles. His residence, house no. 46 in Sector 2, Chandigarh, is next to the official residence of the Punjab chief minister.
“I don’t think Channi has done anything wrong as the land on which the road has been constructed was already being used as parking space by visitors to the CM’s residence. There is no park in the area,” the CM said while responding to a question during a press conference at Punjab Bhawan.
Channi has been occupying the house, considered a prized possession given its proximity to the CM’s residence, for the past one year ever since he was made the leader of Opposition during the Parkash Singh Badal government’s tenure.
The Chandigarh municipal corporation officials, who had stopped the construction work of the road last week, said on Monday that the land belongs to the public works department (PWD) of the Chandigarh administration.
The Chandigarh administration has taken cognisance of the violation and has set up a probe committee headed by an executive engineer-level official of the PWD wing. “We were under the impression that the land belonged to the MC. It is a green belt area where construction is banned. Action will be taken if violations are found,” a senior official of the UT home department told the media.
THE ROAD WAS CONSTRUCTED TO GET EASTFACING ENTRY TO CHANNI’S OFFICIAL RESIDENCE IN SECTOR 2, CHANDIGARH