Bangla Sahib parking: Row set to escalate over its ownership

New Delhi: Dispute over the ownership of the parking lot at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib erupted with the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) refusing to comply with the terms of agreement reached between the previous gurdwara committee headed by Paramjit Singh Sarna and the government for transferring management rights to the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).

The incumbent president of the committee, Manjit Singh (GK), criticised Paramjit Singh Sarna for alleged “misconduct and abuse of his official position” for getting the agreement signed.

“We do not recognise the terms and conditions of any MoU signed during the tenure of Paramjt Singh Sarna. He had no right to transfer the Gurdwara’s land to any other authority,” said Manjit.

He said Sarna had authorised the then general manager of the DSGMC, Sawaran Singh, to sign the agreement on February 10, 2005 though he was in Delhi that showed his vested interests.

The agreement said, “The area of 8,847 square metre adjacent to Gurudwara Bangla Sahib shall be formally handed over to the DSGMC by NDMC for the construction of a multi-level underground parking and a park on the surface for the use of public.”

It also said, “The ownership of the building and public park so constructed shall vest in NDMC for all intents and purposes and the DSGMC shall not be entitled to remove the same or claim any compensation whatsoever in respect of the same at any time.”

Manjit said, “We have raised the issue with the authorities and hope that some solution would be worked out soon.”

                                        Sarna demands probe:

Challenging the DSGMC, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Delhi) president Paramjit Singh Sarna today demanded an inquiry into the allegations that he had signed an agreement for transferring the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib Parking to the NDMC.

He said that the DSGMC led by Manjit Singh (GK) should get an inquiry done by any sitting or retired judge of its choice into the allegations for transferring the parking lot to the NDMC. “If I am found guilty, I will quit politics.”

Sarna added, “Inquiry should also be done into the alleged corruption cases during one and a half years of the DSGMC ruled by the SAD Badal.”

Source: The Tribune