The Pioneer 24.08.2010
Illegal colonies to be regularised
PNS | Chandigarh
Bringing a reason to smile for over eight lakh people living in illegal colonies in Punjab, the State Department of Housing and Urban Development has taken a historical decision to regularise these colonies by imposing compounding charges as proposed in the relevant rules being notified.
Though the matter enjoys the Cabinet's approval, the decision will not be applicable in periphery area of 16 kilometers around Chandigarh being the controlled area.
Earlier, the Government had constituted a committee under the presidentship of Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) chief administrator including Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) chief administrator and Chief Town Planner as members to prepare a policy.
The policy will be framed for compounding the unauthorised colonies in the State under rule-38 (Prosecution and Composition of Offences) of the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act-1995.
While deciding the norms and compounding charges for regularisation, the Committee focused on possession of minimum required basic amenities with each illegal colony and ensured that development of more unauthorised colonies is not encouraged and the tendency curbed so that prospective promoters go for licencing.
The Committee proposed to regularise colonies developed before August 17, 2007, the date on which External Development Charges, Licence Fee, Change of Land Use (CLU) have been revised.
The policy also proposed that residents or investors of illegal colonies are technically guilty of abetting an offence and the composition fee shall be charged from them so that they may not face prosecution.
