Plot owners a harried lot amid PSPCL’s deadlock with colony developers
With the PSPCL seeking submission of bank guarantees and installation of electric infrastructure in the colony for providing the NOC, developers are contending that they have applied for regularisation under the policies floated by state government in 2013 and 2018, and they need not to apply for an NOC from the PSPCL, separately; meanwhile, individual plot owners are suffering
The persisting deadlock between Punjab State Power Corporation Limited officials and colony developers has shrouded hundreds of individual plot owners in darkness with the power corporation refusing to provide connections without a no-objection certificate, regardless of whether a colony has been regularised or not.
With the PSPCL seeking submission of bank guarantees and installation of electric infrastructure in the colony for providing the NOC, developers are contending that they have applied for regularisation under the policies floated by state government in 2013 and 2018, and they need not to apply for an NOC from the PSPCL, separately.
Parvinder, a plot holder at the Smart City Enclave on Pakhowal Road, says,”The developer got the colony regularised by submitting a fee under the regularisation policy, and now that we have built the house, the PSPCL is denying us a power connection.We are unable to shift into the new house because of this deadlock between the developer and the PSPCL.”
One Sarvjit of Gauri Enclave near Ladian village said that they have sent a legal notice to the PSPCL as they cannot deny basic services to residents. “The PSPCL has provided power connections to other plot holders and house owners in the same area in the past, but now they are denying us a power connection,” said Sarvjit.
Developers say that as per the regularisation policies floated by government, plot holders can also get their individual plots regularised, if the developer is not getting the colony regularised.
Punjab Colonisers and Property Dealers Association president GS Lamba said, “The issue has been going on for the last few months. The regularisation policy says that the government will provide basic facilities to colonies, if the developer submits the regularisation fee under the policy. Now, the PSPCL is asking the developers to apply for an NOC separately, which is not acceptable.”
“We have taken up the issue at state level as not only developers, but individual plot holders are also on the receiving end. Authorities have assured us that the matter will be resolved soon,” said Lamba.
Attempts to reach PSPCL chief engineer, Ludhiana, Bhupinder Khosla, were unsuccessful.