F’bad plan: Land mafia gives sleepless nights to authorities

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, September 17

The authorities have already started the work on implementation of the Development Plan-2031 (Master Plan), illegal plotting mafia, however, has been giving sleepless nights to the district administration.

The authorities will carve out 67 new sectors to match the growth and demand of the population of the district by 2031 and the official radius of the urbanisation will cover 55 villages out of the total 146 villages of the district as per the new development plan.

Though all villages are already included in the ‘controlled area’ regulation, it is, however, revealed that illegal plotting was still on with impunity which has made the work of the authorities more difficult.

“We have to carry out six to eight demolitions each month to contain the illegal plotting activity,” says Naresh Kumar, DTP (Enforcement). He says 140 demolitions have taken place in the past two years and 160 FIRs have been lodged against the culprits.

Demolitions have been carried out in Bhopani, Palwali, Sikrona, Newada-Tigaon, Neemka, Nachauli, Sarurpur and Qureshipur villages recently.

Claiming that regular checking was being done in the areas, he said that land mafia was still active as there was a huge demand of residential plots from unsuspected buyers belonging mainly to migrant population. The issue had come up in a meeting of the district administration recently in which Deputy Commissioner Atul Kumar had directed the revenue officials not to register plots without the NOC from the department concerned.

Stating that 67 new sectors spread over 34,368 hectares would be developed, Sanjiv Maan, DTP (Planning), said it would help in creating the required infrastructure for a population of 39.55 lakh by then. The current population is 16 lakh. The new sectors named between 92 and 158 will have different land use including residential (42.36 per cent), commercial (6.05 per cent), industrial (17.98 per cent), transport (11.70 per cent) public utility (3.34 per cent) and open spaces (15.2 per cent).

A total of 66 unauthorised colonies located within the Municipal Corporation limits were announced to be regularised recently. These had also been carved out illegally in the past three decades.