In a landmark announcement ahead of the festive season, Haryana’s Chief Minister, Manohar Lal, declared the regularisation of 303 colonies across 14 districts. This initiative, backed by a Rs 3,000 crore allocation for infrastructure enhancement, will benefit over 10 lakh residents.
Spanning 5,000 acres, these colonies consist of 193 under 39 municipalities and 110 under the Town and Country Planning Department. Manohar Lal stated that the state’s commitment to urban development is further evidenced by the attention given to utilities like sewer lines, water supply, roads, parks, and street lights in all 404 regularised colonies. The government plans to invest Rs 60 lakh per acre to elevate living standards in these areas.
Currently, there are 1507 irregular colonies on the state’s records, with a pledge to regularise all by January 31, 2024. To ensure this, a district-level team, led by the Deputy Commissioner and District Municipal Commissioner, will oversee the regularisation process.
To curb the proliferation of unauthorised colonies, strict provisions are in place. An additional 800 pockets, earlier left out, are also on track for regularisation by the aforementioned 2024 deadline. With many irregular colonies lacking a Resident Welfare Association (RWA), the state has urged inhabitants to establish RWAs for smoother coordination with government agencies.
Drawing a comparison, Manohar Lal highlighted that since 2014, 1438 colonies have been regularised under the present government, while the previous Congress regime saw only 874 regularisations. The CM also noted recent amendments easing regularisation criteria for colonies with broader access and internal roads.