Chandigarh, October 2
“Hakan mariyan, bulaya lakh bari, per kise ne meri gal na suni” (No one has heard me though I made lakhs of calls). These famed lines of a popular Punjabi song aptly describe the tale of woes and misery of residents over 300 villages in the radius of 16 km from the outer boundary of the City Beautiful.

These villages have suffered a lot because of City Beautiful. “In fact, Chandigarh has virtually become a noose around our necks for the past four decades, and no one has dared to break us free” said Mr Vikramjit Kaushal, a resident of Sohana.

But now they see a ray of hope as Mr Birdevinder Singh, MLA from Kharar, has taken up their cause with Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, Mr Birdevinder Singh says he would try to remove the sufferings of lakhs of people in the periphery of Chandigarh in the Punjab area because of the existing Periphery Act. “I would not rest till the Act is scrapped or suitably amended to end the exploitation of the villagers concerned and to ensure their development”.

In fact, Mr Birdevinder Singh says that the Chief Minister has directed Chief Secretary, Mr Y.S. Ratra to submit a detailed report in this connection. “A few days ago I had detailed discussions with the Chief Minister, who then directed the Chief Secretary to prepare a report in this connection”, asserts Mr Birdevinder Singh.

“Hundreds of people are without power and drinking water connections in these villages. They have to seek no-objection certificates from PUDA for securing the power and drinking water connections. In the process of seeking no-objection certificates, they are exploited to the hilt by authorities concerned”, says Mr Birdevinder Singh.

People up to Chuni Kalan and Banur are affected because of certain anti-village clauses of the Act, according Mr Birdevinder Singh.

Under the Periphery Act all sorts of development beyond” Lal dora” of the villages falling within the 16 km radius was banned. People could not build houses beyond Lal dora.” They cannot construct even a room near their tubewell in their farms. They have to seek permission which can’t be granted because of the provisions in the Act.

However, there are people who constructed houses, taking the risk and violating the Act. But it has added to their woes. They often receive threats of demolitions and, in the process are exploited. “People have to grease the palms of the officials concerned to stop the wheels of the law from operating” alleges Mr Birdevinder Singh. Most of them are now without power and drinking water connections which are granted only on the submission of no objection certificates from PUDA.

“Lal dora” in villages were fixed in 1890. However, following consolidation in certain villages in 1952, Lal doras were extended keeping in view the needs of the villages concerned. Since 1890 and 1952, the population of these villages had gone up manifold but “Lal doras” have not been extended. “It is not possible for people to remain confined to the boundary limits of the village as the population pressure has increased tremendously. That is why people wanted to build houses beyond “Lal doras” or wanted to get these refixed. But no one has cared to take care of this problem which has resulted in a number of other problems for these villages”, said Mr Birdevinder Singh.

He said thousands of cases had been registered over the years by PUDA against villagers who dared to violate the law to construct houses etc. But no one tried to know the exact cause of the violation of the law by the people concerned.

He says the Act had been framed to maintain the beauty of Chandigarh by preventing human settlements in its nearby areas. However, the Chandigarh Administration has regularised thousands of violations of the basic design of City Beautiful in past three decades. It has regularised about 30 “ illegal colonies” in Chandigarh and allowed the construction of pucca houses. Besides, Chandigarh’s green belt has been vastly damaged by allowing constructions. But the Punjab Government is proving more loyal to Chandigarh by not allowing construction in nearby villages.

Mr Birdevinder Singh said it was paradoxical that while illegal colonies had been regularised in Chandigarh, people in its periphery continued to suffer.

Mr Birdevinder Singh said the Periphery Act had lost all relevance with the construction of Panchkula and Mohali in the periphery of Chandigarh. Besides, the government had allowed a free enterprise zone near Derabassi, where certain provisions of the Act could not be enforced.