GLADA takes tough stand against illegal colonies

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, November 22

Even though the Punjab Government is yet to come out with its promised policy for regularisation of unauthorised/illegal colonies, the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) has taken a firm stand against unlicensed developers by asking the revenue officials of the districts under its jurisdiction not to register sale deeds in such colonies. At the same time, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has been asked not to grant new electricity connections to residents in unauthorised colonies.

The GLADA Chief Administrator, Parminder Singh Gill, told The Tribune that a list of 979 unauthorised/illegal colonies that fell in the jurisdiction of GLADA had been sent to the deputy commissioners of Ludhiana, Ferozepur, Moga, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar and Jalandhar (for Phillaur tehsil only) asking them not to register title deeds of unlicensed colonies. “We have also written to the officials of the PSPCL of these districts not to issue new electricity connections to residents in the unauthorised colonies,” he said.

He said the objective was to curb the proliferation of new unlicensed colonies and to save the gullible public from falling in the traps of unscrupulous developers. In the communication sent to the deputy commissioners, their attention has been drawn towards provisions made in Section 20(3) of the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act 1995 (amended Act 2014) which lays down that sale deeds of plots/buildings lying in illegal colonies should not be registered. 

Although the GLADA/PUDA authorities have been building pressure on the revenue officials not to register sale deeds, practically, these instruction were not being followed in letter and in spirit if sources in the Revenue Department are to be believed. 

“The network of touts and middlemen operating in the revenue offices, in connivance with certain obliging members of the staff, find loopholes and get the title deeds registered by false declarations or misrepresenting the facts, of course for a hefty fee and the spoils are shared between the agents and conniving officials,” said the sources.

Not only this, the direction issued to the PSPCL authorities not to grant new electricity connections to residents in illegal colonies was also divergent with the official stand of the power utility which clearly lays down that no NOC or other documents were required to get new electricity connection in domestic category. Confirming this, the PSPCL Chief Engineer/Central Zone said as the decision of the state government, all restrictions on issue of new power connections under domestic category had been withdrawn. "The domestic consumers seeking new electricity connection have to provide their identity and residence proof and no other document or NOC is required," he said.