Chandigarh villagers’ issues should be resolved through CLU policy: Sanjay Tandon

A delegation of villagers led by senior BJP leader Sanjay Tandon on Wednesday met UT Administrator and Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria to raise several long-pending issues of the residents of villages falling outside the Lal Dora limits in Chandigarh.

The delegation highlighted that villagers are struggling to secure even basic necessities such as water and electricity connections, while many applications for tube-well connections are also pending for want of approvals. The villagers urged the Administration to consider measures for planned development and regularisation of their areas.

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The issue of land pooling was also on the agenda at the meeting. During discussions it came up that that land pooling will be effective only where the pooled land area is 100 acres or more. It was decided that a detailed study will be undertaken to identify villages with contiguous land parcels suitable for land pooling.

Addressing the matter, Sanjay Tandon suggested that the Chandigarh Administration should introduce a comprehensive Change of Land Use (CLU) policy for such villages. He said that implementation of a CLU policy would help villagers regularise their land and obtain legal approvals, thereby paving the way for smoother access to essential services. “The people residing outside Lal Dora areas are facing unnecessary hardships in obtaining basic amenities. A well-defined CLU policy can provide a permanent and practical solution to these issues,” he added.

He further said, “Once villagers are able to get approvals under the CLU framework, hurdles related to water connections, electricity connections and tube-well clearances can be resolved in a systematic manner.”

The Administrator listened to the concerns and suggestions presented by the delegation and assured them that the Administration would soon introduce an appropriate policy to address the problems being faced by villagers and provide much-needed relief.