Illegal activities in Sec-43 slum pose security threat

Apart from being an eyesore, slums in Huda Sector 43 have also turned into a hub of illegal activities, causing nuisance for the public.

Residents of neighbourhood localities allege that slum dwellers are involved in illicit sale of liquor and drugs with police and officials of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) failing to take any action despite complaints.

A large number of slums have been mushrooming on the disputed land, approximately 4-5 acres in the sector.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had granted a stay order in favour of landowners while Huda claims it is the agency’s land.

“Despite the court stay order, we have taken action against these encroachers and tried to remove the slums,” said a Huda official on condition of anonymity. The slum dwellers, mainly construction workers and labourers, have settled in a big group here and often jump boundary walls of Garden Villa, an adjoining colony in DLF Phase-IV, in the night to sit in parks and use interior roads to reach the super mart in Sushant Lok.

According to residents of Garden Villa, the slum people live in unhygienic conditions and they defecate and bathe in the open. Residents fear a disease outbreak as garbage and filth can be seen strewn all around.

“We have lodged complaints with the police and even wrote to Huda administrator Praveen Kumar and estate officer Mukesh Solanki. The slum dwellers have illegally occupied vacant plots in the Huda sector and could even be petty criminals,” said a resident of Garden Villa, Rohit Kalra.

The police was called in last fortnight to get the slum dwellers verified but this did not work out. “The police found liquor bottles and illegal electricity connections in their houses but they turned a blind eye,” alleged Vijay Khanna, president of the Garden Villa RWA.

During a recent inspection, Huda officials claimed to have evacuated hundreds of slums but people seem to have re-settled there.

“I have asked my sub-divisional engineer to file a report about the total number of people so they can be relocated somewhere else. I inspected the site about a month ago and evacuated many of them,” said Huda administrator Praveen Kumar.