Licence for New Chandigarh residential colony cancelled: GMADA to High Court

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, July 14

Nearly eight years after a house building society applied for a licence to set up a residential colony on 108.58 acres in New Chandigarh, the “competent authority” has ordered its cancellation. Information to this effect was given to the Punjab and Haryana High Court during the hearing of a bunch of pleas.

As the matter came up for a resumed hearing, a status report by way of an affidavit dated July 4, furnished by GMADA Senior Town Planner Harpreet Kaur, was placed before the Bench of Justice Arun Palli and Justice Vikram Aggarwal.

Referring to the affidavit, the State counsel submitted that the licence to develop a residential colony over 108.58 acres was issued by the GMADA Chief Administrator based on the approvals/sanctions accorded by the Department of Town and Country Planning for change of land use (CLU).

He submitted that the competent authority had ordered cancellation of the licence granted to the Indian Cooperative House Building Society and other respondents and formal orders in this regard were likely to be issued. Accepting his request, the Bench granted him time to furnish a specific affidavit in this regard.

Referring to another affidavit, the State counsel submitted that notices were issued by the office of Punjab Director, Town and Country Planning, to the landowners, promoters and petitioners for a personal hearing. As many as 13 petitioners/landowners appeared before the competent authority on the appointed date, but the promoters/authorised representatives chose not to appear.

“Accordingly, the landowners were heard. Further, pursuant to the proceedings recorded on June 21, the promoters were required to submit the original consent letters with the necessary documents appended therewith on or before July 2 and show if payments were made to the landowners in lieu of the consent letters. However, no response was ever received from them. Therefore, the competent authority shall proceed for cancellation of the permissions/ sanctions accorded for change of land use,” the State counsel added.

In one of the pleas, Bahadar Singh and other applicants/petitioners through counsel Charanpal Singh Bagri and Dr Gurjit Kaur Bagri had prayed for a direction to Punjab Urban Development Authority and other respondents to suspend/cancel the licence, CLU, layout plan and the RERA number granted to the respondent-promoters on the allegations that “these were obtained by fraud”.

Two more pleas were filed for direction to the official respondents to transfer the investigation of a case registered in November 2022 at a police station in a Mullanpur in Mohali to the CBI as “the petitioners have lost faith and confidence in the investigating agency, as also the process that has been carried out so far”