Ludhiana: Transfer of five LIT colonies to MC okayed
Civic body to take over Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Maharishi Balmiki Nagar, Rajguru Nagar, Bharat Nagar Extension and Sant Isher Singh Nagar
The local bodies department has approved a proposal of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) for transfer of five colonies to the municipal corporation (MC), officials said on Friday. Now, LIT officials will approach the MC to hand over these schemes or colonies — Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (475 acres), Maharishi Balmiki Nagar (256 acres), Rajguru Nagar (129 acres), Bharat Nagar Extension (30 acres) and Sant Isher Singh Nagar (8.4. acres). The proposal had been pending for over 12 years.
An announcement to this effect was made by Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora at a press conference at MC Zone D Office, Sarabha Nagar. LIT chairman Tarsem Singh Bhinder, MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal and mayor Inderjit Kaur were also present.
Arora said the benefits of this transfer include the consolidation of services under one roof (MC). Residents of these five colonies will no longer need to visit two separate offices — LIT and MC — for different services. Previously, services related to water supply, sewerage, house tax and property tax were handled by the MC while no-objection certificates (NOC) and no-due certificates (NDC) were issued by the LIT.
This change is expected to benefit approximately 1 lakh people as the MC has more manpower and resources compared to the LIT for providing civic services. The MC will now be responsible for providing essential civic amenities such as sanitation, road maintenance, street lighting, water supply and solid waste management in these localities.
Arora said residents would now be able to approach their respective area councillors directly for the redressal of civic issues. This transition is expected to streamline governance and accelerate the development of these areas, he said. “This is a collective victory for the people. The transfer will bring transparency, quicker response to public grievances and an overall improvement in infrastructure. The transfer will improve long-term planning and civic service delivery,” he said.
Councillors Tanveer Singh Dhaliwal and Satnam Sunny Master along with AAP leader Munish Shah, husband of councillor Indu Munish Shah, hailed Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora’s role in the development. They said the government’s decision has provided relief to people after decades.
Residents of these colonies too welcomed the decision. “This is a historic day for us. We’ve been fighting for proper maintenance and services for years. We are hopeful that our problems will finally be addressed under the MC,” said a resident.
