LUDHIANA: After the project to install the unique identification (UID) number plates on all residential and commercial properties finally kicked off again recently, now the ongoing survey of properties is moving at snail’s pace.
The officials blamed poor support from public for the slow pace. They said the residents refuse to give information to the private contractor’s team. The officials claimed that people don’t support the survey team because they are afraid of imposition of taxes. The installation of UID number plates was started from Dhandhari and adjoining areas of Block 29 where most of the migrant population resides. They said they feel that after the UID plates are installed they will be on the MC’s radar and will have to pay water supply and other dues. The company which is conducting the survey and taking up the installation work had started installing the number plates outside properties from Nov 4, 2023 but the work was stopped in between due to opposition. Then after convincing the public, the work was initiated again on Nov 6, 2023.
Superintending engineer of MC, Sanjay Kanwar said while the number plates are ready and can be installed at any time, the survey is equally important and its pace needs to be increased. He said meetings were held with the the contractor and his team who asked the officials to convince the public to cooperate with them.
The UID number plates project is being taken up under the Smart City Mission. All details of the properties will be just a click away once the project is completed. The aim of this project is to get complete detail of properties so that they can be integrated with command and control center for further usage.
The city has a total of 37 blocks and as per the previous survey, 4.25 lakh properties. The officials are expecting a jump in the number of properties now. This UID number plates project is important for the city residents as well as the civic body. Through the UID, the record of properties and other information related to property tax, sewage connection, water connection and building map, will be linked with a number. With this, the MC services will be just a click away for the residents. The project will also allow the officials to scan the UID number plates and know if the owner has cleared his dues.The project kept getting delayed over the last two years due to technical reasons and departmental queries.
