Chandigarh, June 15: Even as the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority is in the process of finalizing a housing policy, the state currently has 1,565 illegal housing colonies. As per a report compiled by the housing and urban development department, a total of 3,324 applications for regularization of unauthorized colonies were received and out of these over half have been disposed of despite a change in policy.
Similarly, there are as many as 17,004 unauthorized buildings/plots in the state that have not been approved. This figure remains even after disposing of 1, 36,856 applications over the past few years for individual buildings.
Amritsar Development Authority (ADA) has the highest number of pending applications of unauthorised colonies under it at 335, while Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) has 113 and Greater Mohali Area Development authority (GMADA) has 255.
Almost all key political parties had made promises about unauthorised colonies in their poll manifestos. Congress had assured regularisation of all unauthorized colonies on or before March 31, 2013 or houses, plots, shops, factories till date on “as is where basis is.”. Similarly, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had promised that “unauthorized colonies will be regularised, provided all basic facilities including sewerage within a mandated period.”
News Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
