Unauthorised colonies a strain on resources

The adage 'the biggest problem in the world could have been solved when it was small' could be true in the context of mushrooming illegal colonies in Delhi and other National Capital Region (NCR) towns.

Thousands of unauthorised colonies have sprung up in Delhi right under the nose of the administration, putting a strain on its resources.

Realising the seriousness of the situation - more than four million people live in such colonies and a potential vote bank - the Delhi government had started a regularisation drive. About 895 colonies have already been regularised so far. There are about 1,800 unauthorised colonies in Delhi, with most located in areas such as Nangloi, Najafgarh, Burari, Badarpur, Palam Road, near Vasant Kunj and the Yamuna riverbed. Even in New Gurgaon, many colonies have come up on unauthorised land. These colonies are called kachi colonies in local parlance. The administration, police and civic authorities turn a blind eye when illegal constructions take place. "They are all hand in glove with encroachers, otherwise, no one can put up even a single brick," said a person who tracked real estate sector.

Many small-time property dealers or land owners, promote illegal colonisation by luring people who can't afford homes in developed areas. People belonging to lower income groups can't afford a house in NCR towns such as Gurgaon and Noida, as property rates have gone through the roof.

Sanjay Sharma, managing director at Qubrex, a real estate consultancy, say the government has to be strict while dealing with encroachment from the start itself.

Most of the illegal constructions in the NCR have come up in the last 15-20 years when the awareness level among the people was low. "Now, these colonies have proliferated, making it difficult for the authorities to act. If somebody tries to demolish them, it might either trigger law and order problem or get entangled in vote bank politics," he adds.

Many illegal colonies have come up in the prohibited area around the Air Force ammunition depot in Gurgaon over the past decade. Most of these colonies house migrants who can't afford a house in expensive and developed areas of the NCR. Harinder Singh of Realistic Realtors said the government should act when an unauthorised colony is coming up in a locality. "The only solution is to clearly mark areas where no construction can take place. Also, there needs to be a strong law in place and a surveillance task force to tackle all such issues," Singh said.

To meet the housing requirement of low-income groups, state governments have come up with schemes. However, there were instances where people who were allotted cheap houses sold those at a premium, according to an expert tracking the realty sector.