Till March 2019, as many as 5,144 unauthorised colonies spread across 40sq-km had grown in controlled areas of Haryana, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said in its report tabled on the floor of Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday.
Terming it an “alarming” growth of unauthorised colonies in Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat and Hisar, the CAG report states that at least 892 colonies have developed in five years (between 2014 and 2019).
The unauthorised colonies grew due to “non-compliance of rules” and “there were instances of granting of licences in excess of permissible area, delay in taking action for cancellation of licences”, CAG said.
The CAG further pointed out that ₹15,217 crore was outstanding against the colonisers on account of pending external development charges, infrastructure development charges for 1 to 16 years.
The audit observed that neither any licence as required under Section 3 nor any exemption under Section 9 of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas (HDRUA) Act, 1975, was obtained.
Referring to one case of development of unauthorised colony in Karnal, the CAG observed that the level of compliance with the Acts and Rules by the authorities concerned was poor and the department failed to control development of such colonies.
{{/usCountry}}Referring to one case of development of unauthorised colony in Karnal, the CAG observed that the level of compliance with the Acts and Rules by the authorities concerned was poor and the department failed to control development of such colonies.
{{/usCountry}}Citing an example, the CAG said that in 2012, an unauthorised colony spread over 5.5 acre in Mangalpur village of Karnal was detected, while Part-II of this colony was detected in the adjoining areas in 2017.
However, no licence, as required under Section 3 or exemption, if any, under Section 9 of the HDRUA Act, was obtained.
“Despite this, no concrete action was taken against the colonisers between June 2012 and January 2018. As such, the department lost crucial time to stop the illegal activities of the colonisers before it gained ground,” reads the report.