Neglecting vacant plots in city? Get ready to face the music

Owners of vacant plots in the city whose such properties remain unattended and neglected and which had turned out to be dumping grounds should be ready to face the music for not maintaining their land.

The district administration has issued a letter to the authorities concerned to start registering FIRs under the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and Municipal Solid Waste Rules, 2016, against the owners of the vacant plots, which are in a shambles and can be a cause of diseases such as dengue, malaria and chikungunya.

The MC Commissioner, Ludhiana, Aaditya Dachalwal, said the administration had issued the recent orders and penalty would be imposed on owners whose vacant plots have become dumping grounds.

“They are required to construct boundary walls of their plots, besides maintaining them on a priority basis. During the rainy season, wild grass and shrubs grow fast, giving perfect conditions for breeding of mosquitoes, snakes, etc. In case the plot owners fail to do the same, the MC should do the needful and expenses would be borne by the owners,” he said.

The letter issued by Rakesh Kumar, ADC, also mentions that the owners were required to get their plots cleaned, there should be no stagnant water or garbage and the wild grass must be cut due to the ongoing rainy season. Secondly, plots having no boundary wall should build the same urgently. The MC should also ensure that government plots in miserable conditions should also be cleaned. The administration has given the deadline of July 10 for cleaning the neglected plots, owned by government departments and private persons.

Every year, during the rainy season, non-maintained vacant plots cause troubles to city residents.

Puja Sharma, a homemaker, said near their house in Ghumar Mandi, there was a huge chunk of land lying vacant. Half of the land was learnt to be under some dispute while the other chunk was owned by private persons, where huge wild grass and shrubs had grown, up to 8-10 feet. Even private sanitation workers had started throwing garbage in vacant plots as these were not being maintained.

“The other day, our domestic helper saw a snake in the plot due to which she got panicked. Before she could react, the reptile went inside the wild grass. It could have turned fatal. We tried to enquire about the owner of the plot but to no avail,” she said, adding that strict action should be taken against such owners whose properties have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and a den for anti-social elements to consume drugs.

Ludhiana