Amritsar a holy city, your Act promotes dishonesty: HC to Punjab

The order and the oral observations were passed while hearing a PIL filed by advocate Sarabjit Singh Verka through advocate Rajvinder Singh Bains. The PIL sought quashing of the Act and its recent amendment while contending that it interferes with the master plan and is in direct conflict with the directions issued by the court earlier. It also violates municipal bylaws by legalising illegal buildings which have come up there since 2012, the plea said.

“In order to escape from the contempt proceedings and continue to permit the illegal constructions in the Walled City of Amritsar in which the Golden Temple and other heritage buildings are situated, state of Punjab enacted notification dated April 29, 2016 (under the Amritsar Walled City (Recognition of Usage) Act, 2016). It also framed rules titled as Walled City Amritsar (Recognition of Usage) Rules, 2016,” reads the plea, adding the original Act was being amended time and again to give more time to the owners and occupiers of these illegal buildings.

The court was told that the number of applicants under the Act has increased to 352. “It is plain mathematics that (there were) 31 illegal buildings in 2013, 130 illegal buildings in 2014, 214 illegal buildings in 2018 and now 352 illegal constructions where the owners are seeking regularization or condonation of breach of bylaws in 2019,” the plea states, adding all this has happened while the High Court has been monitoring the implementation of its directions of 2012 pertaining to action against such illegal constructions.