Colony No. 4 demolition: Chandigarh admn allows residents 7 days to present papers for flat allotment

Readying to carry out the demolition of Colony Number 4, the UT administration on Tuesday allowed eligible residents seven days to submit their relevant documents for alternative housing.

On Tuesday, the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB), after a computerised draw, also allotted flats to seven colony residents, who had valid documents and were found eligible for flat allotment under the Chandigarh Small Flat Scheme 2006.

Thereon, referring to its August 2021 public notice, CHB issued a fresh public notice, asking residents to submit relevant documents for allotment.

In 2021, CHB had prepared a list of 122 cases of Colony Number 4 under the Small Flat Scheme that has been reduced to 58 after flat allotments to eligible people.

“The list of 58 cases has been uploaded on the CHB website. All these 58 applicants are hereby again requested to immediately appear before the section officer (pre-allotment) within next seven working days with requisite documents to complete the formalities under the Chandigarh Small Flat Scheme 2006, so that flats can be allotted without any further delay,” said Yashpal Garg, chief executive officer, CHB.

UT adviser Dharam Pal said, “Left out cases are being examined. Residents found eligible will be adjusted, but others will be removed.”

Intending to start a demolition drive, the UT Estate Office on April 21 had directed the colony residents to remove their belongings and vacate the land by April 23 or face forcible eviction.

Earlier on February 15, the Estate Office had put up eviction notices at the colony and a nearby smaller hutment cluster, Sanjay Colony, stating, “This colony is illegal and will be demolished within two months. So, it is hereby ordered to vacate the same.”

The administration has been making repeated attempts to get the land vacated for more than three years. Around 10,000 slum-dwellers are estimated to be living in the colony.

Around 4,000 families have already been allotted flats at the Rehabilitation Colony in Maloya under the Small Flats Scheme.

In a previous attempt to vacate the land in 2019, the administration had issued eviction notices, directing the residents to vacate the land within 21 days. But the demolition drive was never initiated due to Covid-19 pandemic and MC elections.

UT officials maintain that the process of resettlement of the eligible residents under the rehabilitation scheme has been completed, and proper procedures have been followed in terms of allowing time for vacating the land and issuing requisite notices.

“Most eligible slum-dwellers who were found eligible after the biometric survey conducted in 2006 have been rehabilitated,” said an official.

Earlier on Tuesday, Aam Aadmi Party councillors met the UT adviser with a request to defer the demolition drive and pressed for an amicable solution to the long-standing issue.

The delegation requested the adviser to accommodate genuine residents whose names were in the survey but could not get their biometrics registered due to one or the other reason.