Proposal to order demolition, without issuing a legal notice, is under considerationThe Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) plans to stop issuing any legal notice to those violating its building rules. It will pass demolition orders straightaway, after announcing it in newspapers. The move aims to put a check on litigations and pending cases, some as old as 20 years.The suggestion came from the officers of the Legal Section and Enforcement Wing of the CHB at a meeting held recently. At present, the Enforcement Wing ensures that there are no building violations or misuse by the allottees in the dwelling units and issue notices to them from time to time. But with the option of a legal recourse available, they take advantage of the long legal process and carry on with the violations.“When an allottee knows he can build an extra room in the space demarcated as ‘open area’ and continue enjoying the violation after appealing with the authority concerned, taking the legal course, why would he remove the violation or pay a penalty?” asked an officer with the Legal Section. From the Secretary to the Advisor, there are various appellate authorities to take care of the violations. The movement of the files within the board alone consumes a period of five years. The case then moves to the district court and finally to the High Court. Bypassing this legal recourse and to avoid the cases lingering for years in courts, the CHB now wants to go for the shorter and stricter route. According to CHB officials, the decision on the implementation of the proposal will be taken shortly. Only 27 applications for today’s Lok Adalat The first-of-its-kind attempt of the CHB to settle the long-pending legal cases through the Lok Adalat seems to have proved to be an exercise in futility. According to records obtained from the CHB, of the total 400-odd pending cases, only 27 have applied for a hearing in the Lok Adalat to be held at CHB office on December 13 at 11 am. Saturday’s Lok Adalat will be followed by the Mega Lok Adalat on December 20 and 21. On December 13, as many as 17 cases were identified to be heard by Senior Legal Officer Payal Manchanda. The remaining will be heard on December 20 and 21 in the Mega Lok Adalat. Apart from these 27 litigants who came on their own, 37 were identified by the CHB. The oldest case, pending in the High Court since 1988, is of the cancellation of a house in Sector 42. Besides, there are several cases pertaining to commercial sites.Lok Adalats in district courts todaySEVERAL Lok Adalats are being organised in the district courts on Saturday to provide quick remedy to the litigants and to clear backlogs. Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur will be the chief guest on the occasion.Traffic Lok Adalats will be held in 12 courts and around 4,000 pending challans are expected to be settled. Besides, the courts of all Additional District and Sessions Judges will be holding Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of matrimonial cases, accidental claims, motor accident claims and other cases.To spread awareness regarding the Lok Adalats where traffic violators can get their challans released at low costs, the Chandigarh Traffic Police were seen playing a tape at busy traffic junctions, requesting the public to clear their challans at the courts on Saturday.
