Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, February 24, 2025: The issue of allotting permanent booths to shopkeepers operating in raw Khokhas at Guru Nanak Khokha Market located in Phase-1 of the city and Rajiv Gandhi Khokha Market located in Phase-7 for the last 40 years by charging a reasonable price at the respective places has been raised for the last 2 years by S. Kulwant Singh Constituency MLA S.A.S. Nagar, after raising this issue with GMADA, today during the session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Punjab Housing and Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian was asked whether S.A.S. Is there any proposal under the government's consideration to allot the ownership rights of the land under their possession to the existing occupants/shopkeepers who have been running business for the last 40 years at Guru Nanak Khokha Market with about 280 shops in Phase-1 of the city and Rajiv Gandhi Khokha Market with about 70 shops adjacent to the Motor Market in Phase-7?
Replying to this question of the constituency MLA, the Minister for Housing and Urban Development said that when GMADA came into existence in 2006, the possession of the shopkeepers of these markets was allowed to remain as it is in the public interest and now a committee has been formed by the Chief Administrator GMADA to allot ownership rights to the occupants of these shops on the basis of possession. After reading/examining all the facts as soon as possible, it will submit its report which will be sent to the government for a suitable decision. On this, the MLA of the constituency asked the Minister that it has been 19 years since GMADA came into existence and it has taken 19 years to build only about 350 mini booths. Therefore, it should be told how many more years it will take for this work and when was the committee formed by GMADA formed, by when will the committee submit its report and by when will the booths be built and given? Answering these questions of the MLA, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development informed that the committee formed for the said work has taken a little time and the results of this work will come out in 5-7 months because the government is working on this issue.
S. Kulwant Singh raising the said issue in the Vidhan Sabha is creating a wave of happiness among the shopkeepers concerned and for the first time in the last 40 years, they are hopeful that GMADA will soon build permanent booths and give them to them.