Chandigarh admn set to demolish Sanjay Colony on April 23
After nearly three years of legal battle and multiple court interventions, the UT administration will finally bulldoze the illegal Sanjay Colony in Industrial Area, Phase I, on Wednesday morning as part of its Slum-Free City drive.
A last-minute review petition filed by residents in the Punjab and Haryana high court was dismissed on Tuesday, clearing the final legal hurdle for demolition.
The prime government land, spread across nearly six acres, has been illegally occupied by around 5,000 dwellers, living in 1,500-1,800 shanties/jhuggis, as per officials from the UT Estate Office.
Despite the scale of displacement, officials said no dweller qualifies for rehabilitation under the central government's Affordable Rental Housing Scheme.
According to estate officials, a last-chance documentation camp was held last week, where only around 20 residents submitted their documents. However, all were declared ineligible after scrutiny.
Thereafter, through a notice, residents of the colony were informed that it was government land and all structures or jhuggis erected on it were illegal.
Deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav said, 'The residents' documents were scrutinised, but none of them was found eligible for rehabilitation. Hence, as per plan, we will start the demolition drive at 6 am on Wednesday.'
Faced with the imminent homelessness, some residents resorted to protests at the colony on Tuesday, while others were seen hurriedly shifting their belongings in a bid to save what they could before the bulldozers rolled in.
Most of the colony inhabitants are labourers, hawkers, industrial workers, daily wagers, sweepers, domestic workers, porters, etc, having settled here over the past 15-25 years.
The plan to demolish the colony initially started in mid-2022, but after pleas from the residents of Janta Colony, Sector 25-D, and Sanjay Colony, the high court stayed demolition proceedings.
The exercise in 2022 was being carried out under a drive of making the city completely slum-free, initiated after the successful demolition of Colony Number 4 at Industrial Area, Phase 1, wherein 2,500 shanties were removed and more than 65-acre land worth ₹2,000 crore was recovered in May 2022.
Janta Colony next
After carrying out the demolition drive at Sanjay Colony, the UT administration will now focus on removing slum dwellers from Janta Colony, Sector 25, which is spread over 10 acres of government land with around 2,500 shanties.
After Colony Number 4, it is considered the biggest slum area in the city, estimated to be home to more than 10,000 people. The colony stands on government land worth around ₹350 crore, which has been earmarked for a dispensary, a primary school, a community centre and a shopping area.
Over the last 20 years, the administration has also demolished Colony Number 5 (in 2013), Mazdoor Colony, Kuldeep Colony, Pandit Colony, Nehru Colony, Ambedkar Colony, Kajheri Colony and Madrasi Colony. But several small and big pockets of slums still remain in the Industrial Area, Manimajra and Sector 25.
Thousands of the displaced slum dwellers have been rehabilitated under the Chandigarh Small Flats Scheme 2006. The over 40,000 allotted flats, built by the Chandigarh Housing Board, are spread across Maloya, Ram Darbar, Mauli Jagran and Dhanas.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Centre reviews J&K power, urban infra; 5 grid stations inaugurated, UT told to expedite smart metering
New Delhi: Union minister for power and housing & urban affairs Manohar Lal on Thursday reviewed the power and urban development sectors in Jammu & Kashmir during a meeting held in Srinagar, attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, senior officials of the Union Territory, Central Public Sector Enterprises and the Government of India. The UT administration highlighted the role of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) in strengthening the power distribution network, particularly in remote areas, and thanked the Union Minister for approving revised cost estimates under the scheme. Issues related to upgradation of the power distribution and transmission system were raised by the UT, with a request for continued support from the central government. The Chief Minister thanked the Union Minister for his visit and underlined the UT's commitment to improving the sector. Union Minister Manohar Lal asked the UT administration to plan for capacity augmentation as per the Resource Adequacy Plan. He commended efforts to reduce the gap between power purchase cost and revenue and emphasised that such measures will help improve the financial health of power utilities and ensure reliable supply. He advised the UT to fast-track implementation of prepaid smart metering, beginning with government establishments and extending to commercial and industrial consumers. He added that the government should saturate prepaid metering for all government departments and colonies by August 2025. The Union Minister also highlighted the need to resolve pending issues in ongoing NHPC hydro projects to enable their early completion and called on the UT to consider waiving the water cess levied on hydro projects to reduce power costs. He said the UT should coordinate with the Centre to build skills among the local workforce for hydro projects. The Minister assured full support from the central government for the overall development of the UT. During the visit, the Union Minister inaugurated the following grid infrastructure augmentation works: 1. Augmentation of 132/33 kV Grid Station Awantipora from 145 MVA to 175 MVA. 2. Augmentation of Grid Station Wanpoh, including replacement of a 20 MVA, 132/33 kV power transformer with a 50 MVA transformer. 3. Augmentation of Grid Substation Amargarh from 135 MVA to 195 MVA. 4. Augmentation of Grid Substation Magam from 100 MVA to 130 MVA. 5. Replacement of a 50 MVA transformer bank at Kulgam Grid Station with an 80/100 MVA unit along with related upgrades such as bus strengthening and equipment replacement. The Union Minister stated that the visit was aimed at facilitating resolution of pending issues and identifying new initiatives to enhance services in the UT.
Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Chandigarh: 5 BJP faces among six new members in advisory council
Nearly six months after UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria reconstituted the administrator's advisory council (AAC), leaving out several key figures of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the UT administration on Wednesday inducted six new members – five of whom are senior BJP leaders. The move is being seen as a bid to placate the local BJP unit, who had cried foul after the council's reconstitution in December, stating that only those having connections with the new local leadership had been considered while those who had been working for the city and party for years, had been left out. Among those who have now been included in the 54-member council are former MP and additional solicitor general of India Satya Pal Jain, senior BJP leaders Sanjay Tandon and Davesh Moudgil – all of whom are making a comeback. Apart from that former Chandigarh mayors Anup Gupta and Gian Chand Gupta have also been given a berth. Senior leaders Arun Sood and Vineet Joshi, however, have been left out again. Ex-Cong MP Bansal dropped The sixth new member is Dr Ravinder Nath, a resident of Dadumajra Colony. Surprisingly, senior Congress leader and former MP Pawan Kumar Bansal, who had been part of the council for several years, has been dropped this time. The council, which advises the administration on development issues and policy matters, includes personalities from various professional fields. It serves for a period of two years. During the December 2024 reconstitution, its strength was brought down to 54, from 60 earlier. The present council's term started on January 1, 2025, and will end on December 31, 2026. So far, the council has met only once – on February 4 this year, when the city's traffic woes, encroachment issues, health infrastructure, and need-based changes in Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) houses, were discussed. AAP alleges political favouritism Meanwhile, AAP's Chandigarh unit president Vijaypal Singh questioned the induction of saffron party leaders, asking whether the city's administration was being run from the official Secretariat or Kamalam, the BJP's party office in Sector 33, Chandigarh. 'It seems the administration is no longer functioning independently. The inclusion of select BJP leaders in the supplementary list of the advisory committee reflects blatant political favouritism. It raises doubts about the autonomy of the bureaucracy and suggests that administrative decisions are being heavily influenced, if not dictated, by the BJP's political agenda,' he said. Saffron party leaders seeks greater representation to Punjab Punjab BJP leader and ex-bureaucrat Jagmohan Singh Raju wrote to UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, urging for greater representation to Punjab. 'Chandigarh being the capital of the state Punjab, has a major stake in the development and policy matters of the city. Sadly, in the advisory council, there is no representation from Punjab. I would therefore respectfully urge you to kindly consider the inclusion of a higher number of representatives from Punjab in the council,' he wrote.
Time of India
16 hours ago
- Time of India
Chandigarh administration has more IAS officers than sanctioned posts
Chandigarh: The Chandigarh administration, infamous for its top-heavy babudom, now has more IAS officers posted than the sanctioned IAS posts in the city. According to the Jan 3, 2025 notification of the Govt of India, 'The Indian Administrative Service (Fixation of Cadre Strength) Amendment Regulations, 2025', there are 11 sanctioned posts for IAS officers in the city. Of these, the secretary-level posts are only six, but the UT has 13 such officers currently. After the latest joining of three new IAS officers, the total strength of the IAS officers with the UT increased to 12. This includes one IAS officer posted as municipal commissioner, who is also holding the charge of secretary, rural development and panchayats. In addition, there is also a Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer serving as Secretary of the Social Welfare Department. Consequently, there are 13 secretary-level officers in the UT administration. In contrast to the fully filled IAS posts, there is a shortage of staff lower down the hierarchy. For instance, in the education department, there are 1,500 posts vacant. Of these, only recently, the administration started the recruitment process for 993 posts. Earlier this week, three officers - Swapnil M. Naik, Pradeep Kumar, and Mohamed Mansoor - joined the Chandigarh administration. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Naik, an AGMUT officer of the 2009 batch, was assigned the charge of Secretary, Hospitality, relieving Anuradha S Chagti of the charge. He was also given the charge of Chairman, CITCO, relieving Ajay Chagti of the charge. In addition, he was appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Personnel. Pradeep Kumar, a 2013 batch officer of the AGMUT cadre, has been posted as Special Commissioner, MC. In addition, he has been assigned the charges of Secretary, Agriculture, and Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, relieving Hari Kallikkat of these charges. The third officer to join the UT, Mansoor, has been assigned the charge of Secretary, Cooperation, and Secretary, Food and Supplies, relieving Prerna Puri of these charges. He has also been appointed as Secretary, Excise and Taxation, relieving Ajay Chagti of the charge. Questions have been repeatedly raised over the utility and efficacy of the 'large' IAS strength in the UT administration. "For most of its history, including the 2010s, the city was run by three senior IAS officers – UT adviser (now renamed as chief secretary), home secretary, and finance secretary. But slowly, the number of IAS officers increased. So, now we have a secretary being posted as OSD or having main charges of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, both of which have a very small footprint in an urban area like Chandigarh," said a retired IAS officer who didn't want to be named. A senior UT official, however, contended, "We have IAS officers heading multiple departments and are overburdened. The posts are sanctioned by the central govt. There are 11 posts sanctioned, and 11 IAS officers have been posted. The MC commissioner post is not counted in these 11 sanctioned posts."
