After transfer of two assistant town planners and additional commissioner zone A, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday stated that if demolitions were not as per rules in Karimpura Bazar, due compensation would be given to the shopkeepers. A delegation of shopkeepers from Karimpura Bazar met the CM at Government College for Girls. Encroachments of around 50 shops of this market were demolished on January 19. Widespread protests followed which were supported by the SAD and BJP. While the shopkeepers demanded compensation, the CM directed the MC authorities concerned to conduct a survey and find out if all the demolitions were wrong or only a few of them. “We will give due compensation where demolition was against the rules,” he said. On the demand of BJP that Mayor H S Gohalwaria should step down on moral grounds, the CM said, “Removal of mayor is not in the hands of CM.” The elected members of the MC House can remove the mayor through voting. After attending the function at Government College for Girls, the CM also visited School for Meritorious Students, Civil Lines.
