Indians For Guns

This is where the fight for your rights begins.

Govt targeting gun lovers
Made to pay Rs 10,000 for a Rs 20 form
Charanjit Bhullar
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, October 6
Cashing in on the Punjabis’ craze for guns, deputy commissioners in several Punjab districts have devised an ingenious way of enriching Suwidha Centres that have been set up to provide essential services to citizens. The arms licence fee is just Rs 100 and the Suwidha Centre takes Rs 700 as processing charges. The arms licence application form is priced at a mere Rs 20. But it is available at an exorbitant price of Rs 10,000 in Bathinda.

Clearly, getting an arms licence in Punjab has become a costly business. But, the high fee for an arms licence form appears farcical, especially in cases where a second-hand firearm like an ordinary 12 bore gun can be purchased for less than
Rs 10,000.

Earlier in Bathinda, one had to pay Rs 1,000 towards Red Cross Fund when applying for an arms licence. In 2012, the arms licence form fee was hiked to Rs 1,500 and in February 2013, the form, along with a licence copy, was priced at Rs 5,000. In July-end this year, Deputy Commissioner Basant Garg further hiked the fee to Rs 10,000. The money so collected goes into the Suwidha Centres. The administration says that the hike in the form fee is to curtail the increase in applications for arms licences. “Since licence forms were so cheap (Rs 20), anybody could apply,” Mohali Suwidha Centre in charge Charanjit Singh told The Tribune.

However, this argument has few takers. Says advocate NK Jeet: “Even though the money is going into official accounts, the hefty charge is illegal as it does not have any government sanction. The explanation that this is to curb the number of arms licences is laughable as filling a form does not result in grant of a licence. One has to undergo a detailed police verification and scrutiny.”

An RTI activist and a lawyer at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, HC Arora, said: “Increasing the fee without a government notification is incorrect. You can’t curtail services to users by imposing extra burden on them.” Suwidha Centres set up at the district headquarters provide 36 services and charge the public for the same. Earlier the fee was not uniform in all the districts but the State Administrative Reforms Commission on April 26, 2013 made it uniform across the state.

These centres are run by Sukhmani Societies headed by deputy commissioners. The society deposits 15 per cent of the amount from the total income with the Administrative Reforms Department. Government sources say the deputy commissioners of several districts had fixed an exorbitant fee for arms licence forms without any government notification. In many cases, due share (15%) from the collection was not being sent to the state exchequer.

It is learnt that the fee for the arms licence form is not uniform in the state. In Moga, it is Rs 5,000 (raised from Rs 500 earlier). In Muktsar, the form is available for Rs 3,500 with an additional Rs 3,500 taken as Red Cross Fund. In Sangrur, the form is available for Rs 5,000. It was available for Rs 1,250 till three months ago. In Mohali, too, it is available for Rs 5,000. In Barnala, the form is available for Rs 1,250 whereas earlier it cost Rs 100. In Mansa district, the form is available for Rs 5,000.

The Principal Secretary, Administrative Reforms, C Roul, said he was aware of the matter. “Since only the notified charges can be charged from consumers, the state-level committee has sent its report and soon such charges will be abolished”.

Exorbitant fee

The fee for an arms licence form is not uniform in the state

In Moga, it is Rs 5,000, raised from Rs 500 earlier

In Muktsar, the form is available for Rs 3,500 with an additional Rs 3,500 taken as Red Cross Fund

In Sangrur, the form is available for Rs 5,000. It was available for Rs 1,250 three months ago

In Mohali, it is available for Rs 5,000; it cost Rs 1,250 earlier

In Barnala, the form is sold for Rs 1,250; it earlier cost Rs 100

In Mansa district, the form is available for Rs 5,000 plus an additional Rs 1,000 for renewal of licence