Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh in spot after protest outside GMADA

Mohali, May 8

Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh was in between a rock and a hard place today after members of Sector 76-80 Plot Allotment and Development Welfare Committee and Residents Welfare Associations pitched in a tent outside the GMADA office in Sector 62 and staged a protest against the ‘hefty’ land enhancement cost.

The MLA had a tough time convincing the protesters that their issue was being resolved. For many months, the residents have been protesting against the added costs imposed on them. The protesters questioned that the compensation dispute was between GMADA and the farmers or landowners, so why were allottees being penalised?

With General Election around the corner, Singh, the realtor-turned-AAP MLA, made repeated requests to the crowd to call off their protest. Sensing the mood of the protesters, he later gave a ‘guarantee’ to resolve the problem, for which he claimed that he had had talks with CM and the matter was moving at a good pace. The AAP MLA said the process would take its own time and referred to the Model Code of Conduct restrictions to pacify the protesters.

The allottees of Sectors 76 and 80 have been protesting because of the charges of Rs 3,164 per sq m imposed on them. This would translate into over Rs 6 lakh for plots measuring 8 Marla and nearly Rs 4 lakh for 6 Marla plots, they said.

The enhancement was the increase in compensation paid to a farmer or landowner for the acquisition of their land, which was decided by a court in case they were not satisfied with the price being offered by the government or its development agency.