No survey since 2016, govt clueless about number of unauthorised colonies in Punjab
As per the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation (Amendment) Bill, passed in the vidhan sabha last week, the government has done away with the practice of seeking no objection certificate (NOC) for the registration of plots up to 500 square yards in the unauthorised colonies in the state.
Even though the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has given a big relief to a large number of home dwellers or plot owners in unauthorised colonies in Punjab, the state government or its subsidiary Punjab urban planning and development authority (PUDA) has no latest data as to how many such colonies exist in the state.
As per the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation (Amendment) Bill, passed in the vidhan sabha last week, the government has done away with the practice of seeking no objection certificate (NOC) for the registration of plots up to 500 square yards in the unauthorised colonies in the state.
As per the amendment, the owners of these properties, who have signed an agreement to sell or have transacted the value of the property in a legal way latest by July 31, are eligible to get their properties registered for which now they do not require NOC as was the practice before, particularly since the AAP took over in March 2022.
The 14,000 illegal colonies that the incumbent government is quoting comes from a survey conducted during the Shiromani Akali Dal- Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) regime in 2016 when it had legalized unauthorised colonies.
Afterwards, Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government regularised the unauthorised colonies in 2018 and later in 2020, the dwelling units and plots were allowed to be registered but the number of colonies in government records remained the same.
{{/usCountry}}Afterwards, Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government regularised the unauthorised colonies in 2018 and later in 2020, the dwelling units and plots were allowed to be registered but the number of colonies in government records remained the same.
{{/usCountry}}Before 2016, the one-time scheme for regularisation of unauthorized colonies was offered in 2013 and 2014.
{{/usCountry}}Before 2016, the one-time scheme for regularisation of unauthorized colonies was offered in 2013 and 2014.
{{/usCountry}}“There (dwelling units and plots) must be in lakhs of such dwelling or plots which are awaiting registration,” quipped a senior official in PUDA who didn’t wish to be named. The official said there is no reliable data with the government or PUDA with regards to unauthorised colonies in the state.
{{/usCountry}}“There (dwelling units and plots) must be in lakhs of such dwelling or plots which are awaiting registration,” quipped a senior official in PUDA who didn’t wish to be named. The official said there is no reliable data with the government or PUDA with regards to unauthorised colonies in the state.
{{/usCountry}}“No survey has been done by the state department or any of its development authorities. So we have no idea how many people will be benefitted from this scheme,” the officer quoted above said.
{{/usCountry}}“No survey has been done by the state department or any of its development authorities. So we have no idea how many people will be benefitted from this scheme,” the officer quoted above said.
{{/usCountry}}SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, who himself is a real estate developer, had raised the issue in the House.
“There should be a clear cut idea as to how many illegal and unauthorised colonies exist in the state so as to have a clear idea for better urban planning,” Ayali had said in the recently concluded vidhan sabha session.
Cash-strapped govt eyes mopping up crores
After issuance of a notification which is expected soon, the government will start registration of properties and the cash-strapped government hopes to mop up hundreds of crores in revenue.
Before 2016, the state government had earned ₹777 crore from regularisation charges paid by plot and dwelling unit owners and 3,356 cases for regularisation of colonies came from municipal corporations. Of the total 1,602 cases were from Jalandhar and 1,540 from Ludhiana. Then 10,154 colonies applied for regularisation and 4.29 lakh owners of plots and houses came forward for registration. The officials feel that in case surveys are done, the number of illegal colonies will be much higher than 14,000 and dwelling units in tens of lakhs.
