100-foot-wide road does a ‘vanishing trick’ in Ludhiana

Kuldip Bhatia
Ludhiana, July 17

A 100-foot-wide road in the erstwhile colony Vikas Nagar, developed by Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) and later handed over to the Municipal Corporation for maintenance, has simply disappeared from the layout plan of the colony prepared by the MC for the purpose of approving building plans. However, the road, lying along Sidhwan Canal, does exist in the layout plans of the Trust.

In a complaint lodged with the Local Government Department, a city-based advocate, Nalin Kaushik, has alleged that the road, a part of land acquired by LIT for its 475-acre Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar colony, had almost completely been encroached upon and several commercial buildings had been constructed in connivance with the MC officials on the land meant for a public road.

The complainant further asserted that at the time of removing encroachments from 22-kanal land in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar colony, the LIT authorities had taken up the matter for removal of encroachments from the road and gaining possession of the land since a 100-foot road had to be constructed to connect Vikas Nagar with Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar while passing through Pakhowal Road along Sidhwan Canal and Ferozepur railway line.

“Surprisingly, while seeking possession of the land earmarked for the road, the LIT authorities failed to report to the Local Bodies Department that most part of the road was under encroachment,” said the complainant, adding that once the scheme (Vikas Nagar) was transferred to MC, the Trust authorities washed their hands of the matter. “In reply to information sought under the Right to Information Act by me about the encroachments, the LIT officials said the matter pertained to the MC,” said Kaushik.

“Additional Commissioner Rishi Pal Singh has assured that the matter would be looked into and encroachments, if any, on government land will be removed,” added the complainant.