Patiala district administration fails to act against violators
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
Patiala- a home constituencies of Punjab chief minister and local bodies’ minister has become a defaced city. It has came to fore that violators have been pasting posters and putting up banners and hoardings, across Royal city thus defacing and littering public property, without any threat of law.
Violating the civic norms, hoardings are dotting the city at Leela Bhawan, Sheranwala gate, Fountain Chowk, Patiala-Rajpura Road, Sirhind Road, bus stand road etc. Whereas the posters were pasted across city by political parties, coaching institutes etc.
Defacement of public property is one of the major issues, as residents complain that posters, pamphlets and unregulated paintings can be spotted at different places, including hospitals, government offices and underpasses of flyovers, marring the beauty of the Royal City and Patiala district administration fails to act against violators
Recently, shiromani akali dal candidate from Patiala (Urban) Harpal Juneja has started his 2022 assembly election campaign. His poster can be seen at every nook and corner of the city. He has defaced the entire city with his posters. His poster has also defaced the beautiful graffiti done under a railway over bridge.
The MC is silent and not taking adequate action for removing hoardings of political parties that dot the entire city. Most of these hoardings belong to ruling Congress government local leaders. With the MC ruled by the Congress government, the officials are too hesitant to follow the law book. It is despite the fact that earlier the Punjab and Haryana high court had clearly directed the Patiala MC to remove all the illegal hoarding .Even the municipal corporation fails to remove the hoardings of August 15 congratulations given by Local Bodies Minister Brahm Mohindra, his son Mohit Mohindra, after two weeks have passed. The hoardings were placed at the entrance of the Royal city on Patiala-Chandigarh road.
When contacted SDM Patiala Charanjit Singh (PCS) he said” no notice to anybody has been issued for defacing the Royal city, under the defacement act.”
When contacted SAD candidate from Patiala (urban) Harpal Juneja, he said “actually my team is doing this. I had already got this feedback. Today morning i had already instructed my team members to not to deface the city. It’s a wrong thing.”
When contacted Mohit Mohindra, he did not respond to phone call, whatsapp, text messages. Later a person called from his office and said “right now he is busy. I’ll inform him and he will call you.”
Under the Punjab Prevention of Defacement of Property Ordinance Act, 1997, whoever defaces any property in public view by writing or marking with ink, chalk, paint or any other material or by erecting staffs, banners or by pasting notices and writing slogans without the written permission of the owner of the property, except for the purpose of indicating the name and address of the owner or occupier of such property, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees or with both. Defacement of any public or private property is a cognizable offence.
August 30,2021
