Ludhiana MC report to vigilance: Portion of Hero Bakery encroaches govt land
Bakery reopened despite 2023 sealing, regularised illegally with composition fee; part of Smart Road now on disputed government land
A report submitted by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation to the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has confirmed that a part of the land occupied by Hero Bakery on Malhar Road falls on government property. The disclosure follows multiple complaints and inquiries into the site and comes after the civic body had, in 2023, regularised the bakery site by collecting a composition fee, despite explicit high court directions forbidding the regularisation of encroached land.
According to official records, the municipal corporation had earlier, in compliance with the Punjab and Haryana high court’s directions (in CWP 4886) of 2003, submitted a report listing 6,235 illegal encroachments across Ludhiana, including Hero Bakery and other commercial units such as the Makhan Singh Grewal Market. The 2003 report clearly identified the bakery as “encroached property”.
Also, the bakery was sealed in September 2023 following notices regarding the encroachment but was reopened after a few days, even before the issue of regularisation was addressed.
However, in 2023, despite the high court’s clear observation that no encroachment can be regularised, the civic body allowed the bakery owners to retain the structure and collected ₹75,000 as a composition fee — a move now deemed illegal. Following complaints, the vigilance bureau conducted three separate inquiries. Acting on its directions, the municipal corporation submitted a detailed report on October 28, 2025, confirming that around 400 square yards of the bakery and adjoining land is government property.
A joint site inspection, carried out in the presence of vigilance officials, revenue and irrigation department staff, and the municipal corporation’s building branch, verified that the bakery structure falls within the sanctioned Town Planning Scheme (TPS) Gurdev Nagar, Part 3, approved in 1975-76.
The TPS layout specifies Malhar Road’s original width as 109 feet — including 62 feet of existing road, 17 feet of additional space, and 13.5 feet for proposed widening.
The Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) layout plan shows the road as 120 feet wide. Drone mapping conducted during the latest demarcation confirmed that the bakery extends 3 feet 11 inches onto the existing road, and 17 feet 5 inches if proposed widening is included, violating the non-compoundable house line of 15 feet, as noted in the building inspector’s notice (No. 9997 dated August 29, 2023).
Officials highlighted that the 2003 vigilance survey had identified 50 square yards of encroachment at the Hero Bakery site, while nearby markets encroached over 250 square yards. Despite this, the municipal corporation’s 2023 regularisation, through a composition fee, was technically and legally unjustified, the report notes.
Adding to the controversy, Malhar Road has been developed as a ‘smart road’ under
the Smart City Mission, with over ₹26 crore spent on an 1,100-yard stretch, part of which now falls on disputed government land.
Several officials at the municipal corporation building branch are under vigilance scrutiny and action against them is expected soon.
Municipal corporation commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said, “The matter is subjudice. We have submitted our report to the vigilance department. Further action will be taken by them.” Documents reviewed by Hindustan Times show that the high court’s earlier decision clearly barred any regularisation of encroached land, yet the civic body allowed the bakery structure to remain.
Calls made to Hero Bakery went unanswered.
How much land is disputed
Total encroachment: Around 400 square yards of the bakery and adjoining land falls on government property.
Encroachment onto existing road: The bakery structure extends 3 feet 11 inches onto Malhar Road.
Encroachment including proposed road widening: Considering planned road expansion, the structure encroaches 17 feet 5 inches.
Violation of building regulations: The construction breaches the non-compoundable house line of 15 feet, as noted in the building inspector’s notice (No. 9997 dated August 29, 2023).
Historical record: The 2003 vigilance survey had already flagged Hero Bakery as encroaching 50 square yards, with nearby markets encroaching over 250 square yards.
