Draft policy on illegal colonies triggers Bajwa-Sidhu tussle

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 16

Punjab’s re-framed draft policy for regularising 7,000 illegal colonies in cities is finally ready, and the colonisers seem to have had their way. This has triggered a tussle between Housing  Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, whose department has framed the draft policy, and Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has been at the forefront of a drive against illegal colonies.

Bajwa says that concessions are needed to have colonisers and plot-holders on board. Sidhu disagrees. He feels the colonisers are being "rewarded." A meeting of the group of ministers (GoM) to discus the draft is scheduled for Tuesday. 

In the new policy, the draft of which is with The Tribune, restrictions on sale-able area have been removed for colonies with over 25 per cent and less than 75 percent plots already sold. This means these colonies will not have to follow the rule of selling not more than 55 per cent of area. Under the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act (PAPRA ), 45 per cent of area in any colony is to be reserved for open spaces and other utilities, including roads, tube wells and sewage disposal.

Also, the coloniser and plot-holders need not go in for regularisation together. The latter can now just pay development charges and regularisation fee (in case of having built a house) for their houses/ plots to be regularised. The coloniser will no longer be bound to pay the composition fee (Rs 3 lakh-Rs 20 lakh) for getting his colony regularised.

In case of illegal colonies, where over 50 per cent plots have been sold, the provision of parks has been done away with. The policy, framed in March and notified in April, had laid down that 25 per cent of the area must be kept for parks, open spaces, water supply, sewerage and other utilities. This area has now been shrunk to anything between 350 and 700 square yards.

Navjot Singh Sidhu, Local Bodies Minister, emphasised that concessions should not be for colonisers but for plot-holders only. “How can you reward guilty and allow them to create downtowns? Is this planned development? There are illegal colonies with just roads where no one lives. Even they are being given concessions, without verifying if plots have been registered in bogus names.” 

Minister for Housing Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, however, explained: “When the policy was initially framed in March, colonisers, those residing in houses in these colonies and plot-holders refused to come on board. We are allowing these concessions on an “as is, where is” basis so that people residing in these 7,000-odd colonies get access to basic amenities, after paying the charges.”

The draft policy proposes linking sewerage connections of colonies to that laid by local bodies. But Sidhu is opposed to it. The Housing Department proposing to charge Rs 3 lakh per acre for regularising the sewerage connections. The Local Bodies Department, however, wants the charges levied at Rs 11 lakh per acre. With both departments adamant, the matter will go to CM this week. Sidhu said he was yet to receive a formal proposal.

Who all pay and how much

Illegal colonies have been placed in four categories based on the percentage of plots sold: 

• Less than 25 per cent
• 25-50 per cent
• Over 50 per cent 
• Over 75 per cent

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Rs 3 lakh Rs 20 lakh  per acre composition fee to be paid by coloniser, determined on the date of establishment and date of first registration of plot. 

Plot-holders to pay development charges —outside the MC limits, between 0.5 and 6 per cent of collector rate. Inside MC limits, local bodies to fix the charges

Why earlier policy failed

Earlier, the high composition fee development charges and regularisation fee proposed in the Bill made it unattractive.