Upset at stilt-plus-four decision, Haryana RWAs plan to take to streets for rollback

Geetanjali Gayatri

Chandigarh, July 3

Up in arms against the decision to allow stilt-plus-four construction, the Haryana State HUDA Sectors Confederation, an association of 268 Residents’ Welfare Associations, has decided to take to the streets to oppose the move allegedly taken “under pressure from the builders’ lobby”.

“By approving this policy, the government has buckled under pressure from the builders’ lobby ahead of the Assembly elections to mess up the lives of the common man. The residents are in no way going to benefit from this move since the increased density is sectors is going to further tax the already compromised power and water supply and burden an already overloaded existing infrastructure,” says Yashvir Malik, the convener of the confederation and resident of Hisar.

Builders’ lobby has prevailed

The government has buckled under pressure from the builders’ lobby. The residents are in no way going to benefit from this move. —Yashvir Malik, Convenor, HSHSC

He says the first meeting to deliberate on the way forward will be held in Hisar tomorrow while similar meetings will be organised in Panipat and Rohtak through the week. “The confederation will meet within a fortnight after taking the opinion of the local RWAs at these meetings. We will take our protest to the doorstep of the government and its ministers. Since they have compromised our interests, we will campaign against them and approach the Opposition to include a rollback in its manifesto,” says Kadam Singh, the convenor of Rohtak’s RWAs.

In Panchkula, Mohinder Balhara, a member of the confederation, says the construction of S+4 floors has already deprived plot owners of their share of sun and clean air while they live in the shadows of big houses. “The existing infrastructure, too, is incapable of handling such load and we face power cuts and reduced water supply while the drainage system is also inadequate,” he explains.

The situation is worse in Gurugram and Faridabad where four-storey houses have come up in all sectors. The builders are purchasing all the available plots to construct “flats” around individual residences. “We have been completely cheated. The present infrastructure is insufficient to cater to even our requirements and the government wants to put more load on the existing resources.

We have PG accommodation and clinics and offices in such flats. The public opinion was ignored while taking this political decision. We did not buy our plots to live a life in the shadow of flats.

This is unfair,” says Jai Prakash Dahiya, president of RWA of Sector 23.

The government’s decision to seek the neighbour’s approval before going ahead with the construction will adversely impact the relations between the neighbours, says Baljeet Singh, the convenor of Panipat’s RWA.