The Punjab Government is all set to regularise no less than 7,000 illegal colonies across the State. For, the State Cabinet on Monday approved the ‘Punjab laws (Special Provisions for Regularisation Authorised Colony) Bill-2018’ aimed at providing basic civic amenities like water supply, sewerage, electricity and road connectivity to the people living in these colonies.
The Bill, expected to pave way for the formulation of a comprehensive policy for regularisation of colonies and plots or buildings across the State, will be tabled in the Vidhan Sabha for approval in the Budget session starting from Tuesday.
As per available data, there are presently around 7,000 illegal colonies, of which 5,000 were located outside the municipal limits, while no registration of these illegal colonies would be allowed.
Besides providing basic amenities to the residents of these colonies, the move was aimed at bringing all the unplanned areas into the planning framework, said the Government’s official spokesperson.
Spokesperson added that it would give an opportunity to those colonisers or residents who had failed to apply for either getting their unauthorised colonies regularised or bringing unauthorised plots or buildings falling in the authorised colonies compounded under previous policies.
Among the main features of the policy, the unauthorised colonies developed before March 19, 2018, shall be regularised with regularisation charges earlier paid under the previous policies to be adjusted.
liberal charges have been fixed for regularisation of colonies, and charges received from the regularisation of a particular colony shall be used “for providing basic infrastructure to that colony only”.
Payment of charges shall be in instalments within a period of one year, said the spokesperson.
Committees of officers shall be constituted to regularise the colonies and plots, and any developer applying for regularisation of his colony shall have a Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) in place.
The RWA can also submit an application for regularisation of the colony to the concerned authority under the provisions of the Bill.
Further, to streamline the regularisation process, unauthorised colonies have been categorised as per built-up area — up to 25 per cent, 25 per cent to 50 per cent, more than 50 per cent area — with a special provision for exceptional colony having more than 75 per cent built-up area.
CM, MINISTERS, lOP TO PAY THEIR OWN IT FROM MARCH 2018
From March this year, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, his Cabinet colleagues and the leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Sukhpal Khaira would pay their own income tax.
For, the Cabinet has cleared amendments to two legislations to allow the Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues to pay income tax on their salaries themselves, beginning March 2018.
At present, payment of income tax of the Chief Minister and his ministerial colleagues is done from the State exchequer. Being in the rank of Cabinet Minister, the leader of Opposition will also come under the ambit of the new legislation.
The draft amendment Bills for relevant changes to ‘The East Punjab Ministers Salaries Act, 1947’, and ‘The Salaries and Allowances of Deputy Ministers, Punjab Act, 1956’, will be presented in the Budget Session, beginning Tuesday.
The Cabinet had, on February 15, passed a unanimous resolution to make this change, which would help generate “considerable savings” in the State exchequer, said the spokesperson.
The income tax being paid by the Punjab Government on this account stands at Rs11.08 crore, of which the bulk of Rs10.72 crore is for payment of income tax of MlAs.