Hotels will be legalized in and around the 'Holy' city Amritsar
Hotels will be legalized in and around the 'Holy' city Amritsar : ‘One-time settlement policy’ has been proposed by the Punjab government to settle down the compound penalty and resolve at the reasonable fine to legalize unauthorized budget hotels and guest houses located around the Golden Temple in Amritsar the 'Holy' city of Punjab.
On the other side, the affected property owners are not very happy with the proposal’s layout. The property owners say that they had not been called for discussion before finalizing the policy. It seems the policy has been prepared just to benefit some selected units.
Navjot Singh Sidhu, Local Bodies, Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister announced the government’s move to fix the penalty amount to half. Sidhu said that the progress would benefit around 215 economical hospitality units.
According to the information around 125 units who had never obeyed the municipal building by 1997 laws, or the revised building by laws 2010 were put forward to the compoundable office.
Minister cited that the applicants would have to provide the structural safety, fire safety and parking norms prescribed under the National Building Code 2016. The last date for submitting documents containing such information is January 31.
Sidhu said that according to the laid down norms and rules parking space has to be provided within the hotel or guest houses. In any case if hotel or guest house had no sufficient space of its own the alternative parking facility had to be made within the radius of 200 m.
He further said “The structural safety certificate will have to be obtained in advance from selected institutes like IITs, PEC (Chandigarh), Thapar University (Patiala), NIT (Jalandhar), GNE (Ludhiana) and GZSCET (Bathinda)”.
Surinder Singh , President of federation of Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association said that the conditions put forward in the policy might disqualify more than 50 percent of the buildings, the cut off in the penalty amount might not benefit the affected property owners.
Surinder Singh said that large number of the affected buildings could not be put in the bracket of compoundable interest clause considering that these building were in the periphery of the old city.
He further said that according to the court directions, the policy was to be set up taking the affected party in confidence and working out a cordial solution. Whereas, we had never been asked to give out inputs, he added.
It is to be noticed that hundreds of hotels and guest houses were doing business for the last many years in the congested lanes of, Ram Bagh, Hall Gate, Sheranwala Gate, Ghee Mandi Gate, Sultanwind Gate and Hathi Gate Chattiwind Gate.
- PTC News
