At it again: As polls near,illegal colonies get a breather

Of these 1,500 illegal colonies,some 250 are in Ludhiana,400 in Amritsar,200 in Jalandhar,150 in Patiala and nearly 100 are located in Bathinda while the rest are in other small towns of the state.

The problem in the colonies is that for some portions,the urban development authorities have granted permission while the remaining parts of the colony have been developed ‘illegally’.

The cabinet has also decided that apart from the identification,steps would be taken to ensure no unauthorised colonies are developed in the future. Concerned municipal institutions would approve the building plans in the demarcated areas after charging the requisite development fee from those seeking approval. The cabinet,however,decided to take strictest possible action against any illegal construction in future in the urban areas to prevent such colonies from coming up.

“About 300 newly developed large unauthorised colonies have come up in the state after 2004. Growth of unauthorised colonies is taking place at a much faster pace than that of authorised ones. In every city,there are illegal colonies and their number is only increasing,’’ said an officer.

Despite the government stating its resolve to curb such colonies from mushrooming,this is not the first time that the state governments have taken such a decision. On March 7,2006 the then Congress government also decided to regularise illegal colonies when assembly polls were to be held in 2007. The then Punjab finance minister Surinder Singla had announced in his budget speech that all unauthorised residential colonies and slums in the state will be made legal as long as they were not on public land. The decision meant that all colonies and slums built illegally around Chandigarh,Mohali,Ludhiana,Amritsar,Jalandhar and Bathinda were recognised.

In the last decade,some 4,000 illegal colonies have mushroomed in the state. In 1995,the state legislated the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act to crack down on the illegal colonies,but only a few cases have been registered for violating the act. The state governments,however,have,from time to time been regularising these unauthorised colonies,sources said.