Aman Sood
Patiala, March 31
The Local Bodies Department today ordered to shut down the private tennis academy that has come up at a public park in the Model Town area without the permission of the authorities concerned with immediate effect.
Officials’ role under scanner
All encroachments have been removed from the park. We’re conducting an internal investigation to ascertain the role of the MC officials responsible for checking such violations in public parks. — Keshav Hingonia, Patiala MC Commissioner
The move comes a day after the department ordered a probe into the setting up of the academy at the park.
A team of the Patiala Municipal Corporation (MC) removed the illegal encroachments and confiscated the material being raised by the illegal private tennis academy at the public park. Though the MC has assured a detailed probe, it is yet to fix the responsibility of the erring officials who allowed the academy to come up on this prime land in the past fortnight.
As per information, an MC team reached the park at 9 am and removed the encroachments. The team asked the coach to shut the operations or else he will be booked for causing loss to the public property.
Meanwhile, the DC’s office and the Local Bodies Department of Punjab have also sought a detailed report on the issue so that the “responsibility of the guilty officers can be fixed”.
MC XEN (Horticulture) Dilip said: “We received orders in the morning and reached the spot. We then met the coach, who still claims that two persons from the Model Town area had hired him as a trainer at the academy but none of them claimed the ownership.” He said he would submit a report to the MC Commissioner, who would further probe the matter.
On Wednesday, The Tribune had reported how the private tennis academy had come up at the public park in the Model Town area, flouting all norms and usurping government land worth crores.
As per area residents, a hoarding of the Snap Back Tennis Academy came up at the public park almost a fortnight back. Despite no power connection, the academy was allegedly using a huge streetlight installed in the park.
“Initially, we thought that the government had opened this academy to facilitate lawn tennis among the children of the area at nominal rates or free for the poor. However, when we approached the coach, he told us that the charges range between Rs 1,500 and Rs 4,000, depending on age,” claimed residents.
Meanwhile, Patiala Mayor Saniv Sharma Bittu confirmed that they “will fix the responsibility of the officials concerned” who were deputed to ensure no encroachments take place on the government land. “Shutting the academy is a good decision, but the officials who allowed it to come up at a public park need to face the music. Also, the ‘owner’ must be traced and made to pay for changing the park into tennis courts.”
Day on, Patiala MC shuts pvt tennis academy at public park
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