Cabinet panel to prepare inventory of illegal colonies

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News service

Chandigarh, January 12

Amid strong opposition by some ministers over the contents of the draft policy to regularise illegal colonies, the Cabinet sub-committee today decided to elicit public response and prepare an exhaustive inventory of such colonies.

After a detailed discussion, it was decided to issue a public notice to invite public to post their suggestions on designated mail IDs. An observation made by one of the ministers over the functioning of the Housing Department was not taken well by one of the officers.

Headed by Health Minister Brahm Mohindra, the sub-committee that includes Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, Technical Education Minister Charanjit Channi, Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Rural Development Minister Tript Rajinder Bajwa today held its first meeting.

Additional Chief Secretary (Housing) Vinni Mahajan along with other officers was also present.

“The inventory would enable the sub-committee to identify the issues pertaining to each colony. It has been ascertained whether the draft was aimed at benefiting illegal colonisers, who have been demanding more covered area, or the end users,” said a member of the sub-committee.

While Sidhu opposed the move to regularise the colonies, Channi is learnt to have pointed out shortcomings in the present draft of the policy. Two of the committee members were keen to know whether the policy would benefit the colonisers or the end users.

It was pointed out that in certain cases, the illegal colonies are in a shape of carved-out plots and they are yet to be inhabited. When the discussion on not registering FIRs against the illegal colonisers was taken up, the role of the officers in Housing and Local Bodies was questioned by the sub-committee members for not acting when the colonies were coming up.

Though the number of illegal colonies in the state is over 15,000, the Housing Department has received only 6,662 applications for regularisation.

The agenda item of the Housing and Urban Development Department to approve the policy has been deferred twice before the Cabinet decided to set up the sub-committee.