BATHINDA: Move over Greater Noida realty scam. Real estate dealers and agents are duping home-buyers in southern Malwa region by developing colonies on lands whose legal status remains doubtful. The gullible buyers invest their hard-earned money in these housing schemes, only to be rudely awakened later that all their lifetime savings may go down the drain.
To add insult to their injury, those who muster courage and approach the agents or Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) to seek information about their plots are mostly turned away.
To grab the fancy of the home-buyers, realty promoters and their agents put up enticing hoardings and banners. People fall prey to them and dole out huge sums to purchase the plots in colonies which are yet to get nod from PUDA.
Even though in Bathinda, Faridkot, Muktsar and Moga districts over 100 residential colonies mushroomed in the last five years, PUDA has issued licences in the last 10 years to only 12 authorized colonies -- Bathinda (5), Faridkot (3), Muktsar (1) and Moga (3).
"Most complaints made to PUDA against unauthorized colonies in Bathinda gather dust as their promoters are economically and politically influential people," said Rajinder Singh, a doctor.
It is difficult to get details from PUDA about a colony whose legality is under question. A person who tries to seek such information is harassed by the PUDA officials, who keep on passing the buck, saidDesh Raj, a resident who applied for information under RTI about a colony two years back but has failed to get it yet.
According to records available with Bathinda Development Authority (BDA), over 90 colonies whose legal status is dubious were found within the jurisdiction of the authority. Out of these, 46 were within the periphery of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC), while as many were reported to be off corporation limits.
BDA sources said that apart from these cases, about 53 similar complaints/ FIRs about illegal colonies have been lodged. Most of these cases are being investigated by the police while others are pending in court.
But no legal action against any promoter of these colonies has been taken so far. Reason: Most of them have political clout. Even some politicians in this region are in real estate business, so authorities are highly reluctant to take legal action against these shady promoters. Even if cases are registered against them, there is hardly any conviction which gives the accused a boost to carry on their illegal business.
The BDA, which looks after Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar, Faridkot and Ferozepur districts, has got 414 criminal cases registered against dubious realty promoters under various provisions of Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act. They have been accused of being involved in development of unapproved residential colonies in the last 10 years.
At the time of selling the plots, the colonizers and their agents lure the home-buyers with various facilities -- spacious parks, green belt, good drinking water, well-constructed roads, sewerage facilities and power connections. Once the plots are sold, the dealers vanish, leaving people at the mercy of their indifferent agents.
Recently, residents of some localities faced an awkward situation when Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (Powercom) denied them electricity connections as the colony promoters had not fulfiled the condition of installing electric transformers in the colony as per the PUDA-approved plan.
Similarly, over 200 residents of Park Avenue colony in Faridkot were deprived electricity as the colonizer had not laid the local power distribution system in the colony as per the PUDA specification.
"There have been many instances when the colony promoters have not met the norms and later on it has become a liability for PSPCL. We are not taking any risk anymore and the power connections are only issued after the promoter meets all work specifications agreed upon at the time of issuing him the licence by PUDA," said Inderjit Garg, superintending engineer of PSPCL.
To cap it all, the entrance road to Park Avenue colony has been constructed on an encroached land that belongs to the Rajasthan government.
In a notice sent to the colony, the executive engineer of Rajasthan Feeder Canal imposed annual penalty-cum-fine of Rs 6.21 lakh as user charges for illegal use of a big portion of the Rajasthan government's land to construct a road on it.
To add insult to their injury, those who muster courage and approach the agents or Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) to seek information about their plots are mostly turned away.
To grab the fancy of the home-buyers, realty promoters and their agents put up enticing hoardings and banners. People fall prey to them and dole out huge sums to purchase the plots in colonies which are yet to get nod from PUDA.
Even though in Bathinda, Faridkot, Muktsar and Moga districts over 100 residential colonies mushroomed in the last five years, PUDA has issued licences in the last 10 years to only 12 authorized colonies -- Bathinda (5), Faridkot (3), Muktsar (1) and Moga (3).
"Most complaints made to PUDA against unauthorized colonies in Bathinda gather dust as their promoters are economically and politically influential people," said Rajinder Singh, a doctor.
It is difficult to get details from PUDA about a colony whose legality is under question. A person who tries to seek such information is harassed by the PUDA officials, who keep on passing the buck, saidDesh Raj, a resident who applied for information under RTI about a colony two years back but has failed to get it yet.
According to records available with Bathinda Development Authority (BDA), over 90 colonies whose legal status is dubious were found within the jurisdiction of the authority. Out of these, 46 were within the periphery of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC), while as many were reported to be off corporation limits.
BDA sources said that apart from these cases, about 53 similar complaints/ FIRs about illegal colonies have been lodged. Most of these cases are being investigated by the police while others are pending in court.
But no legal action against any promoter of these colonies has been taken so far. Reason: Most of them have political clout. Even some politicians in this region are in real estate business, so authorities are highly reluctant to take legal action against these shady promoters. Even if cases are registered against them, there is hardly any conviction which gives the accused a boost to carry on their illegal business.
The BDA, which looks after Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar, Faridkot and Ferozepur districts, has got 414 criminal cases registered against dubious realty promoters under various provisions of Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act. They have been accused of being involved in development of unapproved residential colonies in the last 10 years.
At the time of selling the plots, the colonizers and their agents lure the home-buyers with various facilities -- spacious parks, green belt, good drinking water, well-constructed roads, sewerage facilities and power connections. Once the plots are sold, the dealers vanish, leaving people at the mercy of their indifferent agents.
Recently, residents of some localities faced an awkward situation when Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (Powercom) denied them electricity connections as the colony promoters had not fulfiled the condition of installing electric transformers in the colony as per the PUDA-approved plan.
Similarly, over 200 residents of Park Avenue colony in Faridkot were deprived electricity as the colonizer had not laid the local power distribution system in the colony as per the PUDA specification.
"There have been many instances when the colony promoters have not met the norms and later on it has become a liability for PSPCL. We are not taking any risk anymore and the power connections are only issued after the promoter meets all work specifications agreed upon at the time of issuing him the licence by PUDA," said Inderjit Garg, superintending engineer of PSPCL.
To cap it all, the entrance road to Park Avenue colony has been constructed on an encroached land that belongs to the Rajasthan government.
In a notice sent to the colony, the executive engineer of Rajasthan Feeder Canal imposed annual penalty-cum-fine of Rs 6.21 lakh as user charges for illegal use of a big portion of the Rajasthan government's land to construct a road on it.
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