Illegal colonies keep coming up as developers seek relief from govt

Kuldip Bhatia
Ludhiana, December 23

Even though the representative body of developers has sought immediate government intervention to stop the indiscriminate cancellation of the pending applications for the regularisation of unlicensed colonies and registration of criminal cases (FIRs) against developers who had submitted applications for the regularisation of their colonies with the competent authorities, illegal colonies are thriving all across the periphery of the city right under the nose of the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA).

Newly elected president of the Punjab Colonisers and Property Dealers Association GS Lamba led a delegation of developers to meet Punjab Housing and Urban Development Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria in Chandigarh on Tuesday to apprise him of the mass cancellation of pending applications for the regularisation of colonies and registration of criminal cases against the developers who had deposited 25 per cent of the composition fee and other charges as per the (now lapsed) government policy.

The developers met the Punjab Food and Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu here this morning, seeking his intervention in the matter to take up the cause of the developers with the government at the appropriate level.

Lamba said the developers had made a plea to the government to issue demand notices for the recovery of the balance amount of the composition fee and other charges from the applicants (developers of illegal colonies) rather than initiate criminal proceedings against them.

“Ironically, GLADA (in Ludhiana) and other area development authorities (elsewhere in Punjab) had given a free hand to unscrupulous developers, as more and more residential and commercial colonies keep coming up all across the periphery, especially on Dhandra Road, Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority Bypass, Daba, Lohara, Chandigarh Road and Humbran Road, allegedly with the connivance of field staff and supervisory officials of the regulatory body,” the developers conveyed to the minister.

Lamba said the Housing and Urban Development Minister had assured the delegation that all criminal proceedings would be put on the hold against those developers who had deposited part of the composition fee and other charges, while Ashu had also told the developers that he would take up the matter with the department concerned.