MC dues: Sewer connections of PAU, LIT severed

LUDHIANA: Tightening the noose around big defaulters of water and sewerage bills, the municipal corporation (MC) disconnected the sewerage connections of 5 major institutions including the Punjab Agricultural University and the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT).
According to information, following strict directions from the MC commissioner to expedite the recovery of pending taxes, the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) branch has swung into action from last week and has started disconnecting connections of the defaulters.
Likewise, a team led by the executive engineer (XEN), Manjeet Singh, disconnected the sewerage connections of big defaulters, which include the Punjab Agricultural University, LIT, Public Works Department (PWD) and two other private firms.
The data of the MC revealed that a whopping amount of Rs 7 lakh was pending against the PAU, while a due of Rs 80,000 was pending against the LIT. Likewise, the XEN of the PWD department having its office at Rani Jhansi Road had not paid the bill of Rs 1.02 lakh pending against them, while two private building owners had not given their bill worth Rs 2 lakh to the MC.
Sources revealed that though the MC had earlier sent notices to these defaulters, they had not bothered to reply them, due to which the MC had resorted to a stringent action against the public institutions too.
Commenting on it, Manjeet Singh said that the action has been taken following the orders of the MC commissioner, AK Sinha, and zonal commissioner PS Ghuman. They said they have started the drive to generate revenue. He said that the disconnected connections would only be restored when they would get report from the cashier that the dues have been deposited in the civic body. "We will continue this drive in the coming days so as to ensure that all pending due are collected," he added.