GLADA encroachments: MC sticks to stand

Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 13

Although hauled up before the Punjab and Haryana High Court for contempt for its failure to remove encroachments from government land as per standing directions, the Municipal Corporation still maintained its stand that onus for clearing encroachments from colonies handed over to it for maintenance rest on the agencies that had developed the colony. In other words, the civic body has put the ball back in the court of the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA).

In an affidavit placed before the HC on the last date of hearing of COCP 3645 of 2017 (Rohit Sabharwal vs Parminder Singh Gill) on September 26, 2019, Municipal Commissioner Kanwalpreet Brar challenged the claim made by GLADA that the encroachment in Dhandari Kalan (mentioned at serial no. 3) in the list submitted by GLADA was 15 years old. “When the maintenance of the area was handed over to MC in March 2001, the hutments and khokhas were existing. Therefore, maintenance of this area was never handed over to the MC,” she asserted.

The MC Commissioner further maintained that with regard to encroachments (mentioned at serial no. 4) in Dhandari Kalan, the GLADA authorities had themselves accepted that these were more than 25 years old and were in existence when the colony was handed over to the MC. In view of this fact, it is the responsibility of GLADA to remove these encroachments,” said the affidavit.

Brar took the stand that as far as rehabilitation of 750 jhuggi dwellers of Vishwakarma Colony (encroachment at serial no. 10) was concerned for which GLADA had deposited Rs 13.31 crore, all these unlawful settlers had been allotted one-room tenements constructed by MC under the ‘Basic Services to the Urban Poor’ (BUSP) scheme at Giaspura and Mundian.

She submitted that while the MC would provide all possible assistance to remove encroachments, if required by GLADA, it was now the responsibility of the latter to take preventive measures against any fresh encroachments at these places. 

The commissioner made a submission that no further action was required for compliance of the High Court order for removal of encroachments and prayed that the contempt petition be dismissed.