The Patiala Development Authority (PDA), established for the development of the royal city of Patiala, has been stalled for quite some time, causing widespread resentment among the public. Those who wish to regularize plots in unauthorized colonies to build homes or sell them for personal needs are issued NOCs by the PDA, but they have not been issued for the past 15 days.
According to reports, the PDA’s Additional Chief Administrator is on leave (ACA). The government has assigned Rakesh Popli, the ACA headquarters manager at PUDA, to take additional charge in his place, but he has yet to begin work and has not even visited the PDA office. People are visiting the PDA office daily to request NOCs, but they are told, “The ACA is not available, so the NOC has not been issued.”
People who have submitted statements are extremely worried, as if the registration isn’t completed on time, numerous legal battles could ensue. The Punjab government received feedback that people were experiencing significant distress due to NOCs, so it abolished the NOC requirement. However, the High Court overturned this decision, and people are still trying to obtain NOCs, but this is not happening in Patiala.
Residents in the property business say this is a direct loss to the government’s coffers and is causing inconvenience to residents. The failure to issue NOCs is tarnishing the government’s image, which could potentially harm the Aam Aadmi Party. People are upset due to the absence of a Naib Tehsildar in Ghanaur.
The Naib Tehsildar post has been vacant for a long time in Ghanaur, a town adjacent to the district. People visit the tehsil office for official work, but their work is not done because the officer temporarily posted as Naib Tehsildar only has the authority to perform registrations. They cannot handle any affidavits or other revenue matters, forcing people to travel to Rajpura.
Sukhjeet Singh Baghora, State Publicity Secretary of the Bharatiya Kisan Utthan Mazdoor Union, said that when he went to get some work done on his land, his work was refused and he was told he would have to go to the Rajpura tehsil to get it done. Baghora said that the people of Ghanaur are already flood-affected, so sending them to Rajpura at the expense of transportation is not justified. He demanded that the FCR Punjab and the Deputy Commissioner, Patiala, post a regular Naib Tehsildar in the Ghanaur sub-tehsil so that he can handle registry work as well as other necessary revenue department work.
