Remove encroachment from Ranjit Avenue area: High Court tells AIT

Responding to a petition, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the Amritsar Improvement Trust to remove the encroachments at Ranjit Avenue here.

The owners of various shop-cum-offices (SCOs) have encroached on the corridors and parking lots by keeping generators there in Ranjit Avenue. In this regard, Baljit Singh, a social worker, submitted an application to Ashok Talwar, Chairman of Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT), on July 30. The AIT then issued a public notice to the occupants on August 2. But after that, it did not take any action.

Following this, activist Baljit Singh filed a contempt petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on which “the High Court has issued an order that the illegal occupation should be removed from Ranjit Avenue and a compliance affidavit filed at least one week before the next hearing. Otherwise, Chairman Ashok Talwar should personally appear in the court at the next hearing,” said Baljit Singh.

Social activist Baljit Singh said though there was a lot of illegal occupation in Ranjit Avenue area, the Amritsar Improvement Trust failed to check these. “The officials are well aware of the encroachments, but do not take any action. The court has now asked them to remove the encroachments within a week,” he said.