Red tape prevents Patiala MC from taking defaulters to task

Sources in the MC told Newsline that fine worth lakhs is pending on various defaulters who have not had their water connections regularised despite repeated reminders. “We have not been able to deal strictly with these defaulters due to the interference by local politicians,” an official said.

The officials have also not been able to collect the fine pending against house tax defaulters, which straightway means a loss of more than Rs 30 lakh. Former Patiala MC Commissioner MP Arora was transferred just a few days after he decided to take up a majority of these cases.

A senior MC official stated that while Mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli was upbeat about the release of Rs 5.5 crore by the Punjab Chief Minister for various works in Patiala, the money is nothing as compared to the total fine amount. “We can change the look of the whole city with the amount of fines that are pending which include house tax, water charges and commercial building charges,” the officials told Newsline.

The Mayor has, many a times, asked the residents to settle their dues or be ready to face the music. There are an estimated 20,000 illegal water connections in the city which have failed to pay the fine.

“Last year, some commercial buildings were raised right after the corporation polls. As a result, the MC General House Meeting could not be held for various reasons. The commercial complex owners, without waiting for the MC clearance, continued to raise their structures and were later added as defaulters for no appearent fault of theirs,” said another MC official. “The MC now wants to fine them but the commercial complex owners only want to pay the applicable tax,” he added.