Karnal, July 7: Municipal Commissioner Saloni Sharma held a detailed review meeting of the Building Branch on Tuesday evening to assess its operational procedures, revenue collection, and the progress of pending cases. Officials and staff associated with the Building Branch—including Joint Commissioner Daljit Singh, Deputy Municipal Commissioner Vinod Nehra, Assistant Town Planner Pravesh Kaushik, and Building Inspector Dalbir Singh—attended the meeting.
During the meeting, the Commissioner sought detailed information from the branch's officials and staff regarding their responsibilities and current tasks. She emphasized that the Building Branch's operations must be completely transparent, accountable, and time-bound to ensure that citizens do not face any inconvenience.
Special emphasis on increasing development charge collection.
Identifying the collection of development charges as a key priority for the Corporation, she directed officials to take effective measures in this regard. She stated that the collection of development charges, in accordance with regulations, must be ensured from all previously regularized colonies, as the Municipal Corporation regularly provides roads, drainage, street lighting, and other basic civic amenities in these areas. During the meeting, Deputy Municipal Commissioner Vinod Nehra informed that the Municipal Corporation has collected ?5.31 crore in development charges so far.
To accelerate the collection process, she issued instructions to make public announcements (munadi) in the city, organize special camps at the ward level, issue notices to property owners in regularized colonies, and raise awareness about depositing development charges via mobile messages (SMS).
All files to be disposed of within the stipulated timeframe under the Right to Service Act. During the meeting, the Commissioner reviewed the file disposal process in the Building Branch and directed that the movement of files be expedited; every file must be processed within the timeframe stipulated under the Right to Service Act. He stated that if an application or file has any deficiencies, the concerned applicant must be informed clearly in writing so that they can provide the necessary documents on time. Keeping any file pending unnecessarily will not be tolerated.
**Action to be based on checklists; special focus on transparency.**
He directed that a detailed checklist be prepared for the Building Branch's operations. He instructed all officers and staff to work in accordance with established standards and checklists to ensure uniformity and transparency in the workflow. He emphasized that all tasks must be completed within the prescribed time limits. If complaints regarding unnecessary delays or negligence arise at any level, action will be taken against the concerned officer or employee in accordance with the rules. He remarked that transparency in administrative work should not merely exist but must be clearly visible.
**New enforcement team to be formed to curb unauthorized construction.**
The Municipal Commissioner directed the formation of a new enforcement team to effectively control unauthorized construction and the development of illegal colonies in the city. He stated that this team would regularly inspect various areas of the city and, wherever rule violations are found, immediately issue notices and ensure necessary action is taken as per regulations.
He instructed officials to prepare a detailed enforcement action plan and maintain continuous surveillance across the city so that any illegal construction could be halted at the initial stage. Additionally, he directed that prompt and effective action be ensured regarding complaints related to encroachments.