7 illegal colonies razed in Karnal, 18 acres freed

Karnal, December 22

Intensifying its action against illegal colonies, the enforcement team of the District Town Planning Department launched a drive and demolished seven illegal colonies that had come up in different areas of the district, freeing around 18 acres of prime land in the past five days.

Notices were DULY served

We served them notices, but when they did not stop the construction and continued to develop the colonies, we had to demolish them. — Om Parkash, District town planner

On Friday, the team members demolished two colonies spread over six acres on Sonkra Road in Taraori, said Om Parkash, District Town Planner (DTP), Karnal.

Giving more details, he said they also razed illegal structures in two under-developed colonies in Mangal Colony Part-II spread over around seven acres on Thursday, and one colony spread over one acre in Gharaunda on Wednesday. Similarly, two other colonies spread over around four acres were demolished on Kunjpura-Mangalpur Road on December 18.

He said the illegal colonies were built in violation of the Haryana Urban Development Act, 1975, which required a licence from the competent authority before carving out a colony within the urban area.

“We served them notices, but when they did not stop the construction and continued to develop the colonies, we had to demolish them,” said the DTP.

During the drive, the team razed unauthorised structures, road networks and boundary walls in the colonies.

He also appealed to the people not to invest their money in such unauthorised colonies and to check with the DTP office before buying land or a plot. The DTP also asked the public to report any illegal construction or development activity in their area to their office.