Punjab government will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) , Ludhiana to keep a check on the unauthorised constructions and encroachments in the state. Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu today claimed that the remote sensing technology would not only help in mapping all illegal constructions in the state, but also help in revenue generation through collection of taxes from such illegal structures. He added it is because of the absence of any strong mechanisms that such illegal structures have usually gone unnoticed. Sidhu, who was the chief guest of National Conference on 'Role of Geospatial Technologies to Bridge the Rural and Urban Divide', while addressing the gathering sought the support of scientists in his endeavour to make Punjab race ahead of other states in the country. The minister, during the conference, asked the officials of the PRSC to send a proposal in regard of the remote sensing technology helping keep a check on illegal construction, following which he said he would discuss with Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh about signing of the MoU with them. "Satellite mapping would help in preventing the illegal colonies, structures, and encroachments, both in the urban as well as rural areas," Sidhu said, adding that around 8,500 illegal colonies are there in the state at present.
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