Janta Colony, the largest illegal slum cluster in Chandigarh, demolished

The UT Estate Office has razed the largest illegal slum cluster of the city, Janta Colony in Sector 25, as part of its plans to make the city slum-free.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-Estate Officer Nishant Kumar Yadav had earlier chaired a meeting of the departments concerned to review preparedness for the demolition drive. It was attended by many senior officials of the Police Department, Administration and the Municipal Corporation (MC).

Nearly 2,500 structures in the slum spread on about 10 acres of prime government land worth about Rs 350 crore were removed. The largest slum of the city was home to over 10,000 people. The land has been earmarked for a dispensary, primary school, community centre and a shopping area.

To ensure that the demolition is carried out in a systematic, safe and legally compliant manner, the administration had constituted 10 teams. As part of the security arrangements, 1,500 police personnel were deployed to maintain law and order during the drive.

This demolition drive is part of the administration’s plans of ensuring lawful urban development, reclaiming public land for civic and infrastructural use, and promoting a cleaner and planned city, said the DC.

Recently, the Estate Office had issued a public notice to the dwellers of Janta Colony asking them to vacate the area within one week. Many residents have already removed their belongings. Several inhabitants claimed that they had documents but were not considered eligible under the rehabilitation scheme.

The Estate Office had demolished jhuggis in Sanjay Colony, Industrial Area, Phase I, and reclaimed 6 acres of government land worth Rs 250 crore on April 23.

Earlier, the administration had tried to remove Sanjay Colony and Janta Colony two years ago, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed the demolition. The stay was vacated recently.