GMADA planning big for Mohali's growth while forgetting Ecocity-2
Amid its ambitious preparations to acquire around 2,600 acres of land in Mohali for residential, commercial, industrial and institutional development, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has failed to launch the Ecocity-2 (extension) scheme in New Chandigarh's Hoshiarpur village even 12 years after land acquisition.
In 2013, GMADA had acquired 96 acres and issued letters of intent (LoIs) to the allottees the same year, but it is yet to begin development work. Over the past decade, residential and commercial plots have been carved out, but the project remains stalled, leaving the allottees in limbo.
GMADA had paid compensation to landowners who opted for monetary settlement, but those who chose to receive plots under the land pooling scheme through this project wait in uncertainty.
Avtar Singh, a landowner, said, 'It has been 12 years. As many as 106 residential plots and 66 commercial ones have been carved out, but the scheme is yet to materialise. No development activity has taken place.'
'GMADA took high-interest loans from banks to pay compensation to the farmers, but the amounts the latter received were meagre. The authority has been paying heavy interest on these loans, but there has been no effort to develop or launch the scheme and recover the amount by selling the plots,' he said.
Echoing similar concerns, another landowner, Satvir Singh, said, 'In 2013, we were forced to hand over our fertile chunks of land which were our only source of income. Now, we feel betrayed. GMADA has issued only letters of intent under the land pooling scheme, but no allotment has been made.'
According to Satvir, 'Without this (allotment), we cannot develop our plots to build houses or open showrooms. Our livelihoods and our kid's future are at stake.'
'The authorities are planning to initiate new schemes but what about the one which awaits completion for a decade?' he asked.
When contacted, GMADA chief administrator Vishesh Sarangal said, 'We floated tenders to carry out development works recently. We require approval from the competent authority. Once we receive the same, the work on the project will begin.'
In its executive meeting on June 6, GMADA had decided to acquire 2,600 acres across multiple sectors in Mohali. According to the decision, 236 acres will be acquired in Sector 87 for commercial use, 313 acres in Sector 84 for institutional purposes, 321 acres across Sectors 101 to 103 for industrial development and a substantial 1,800 acres in Sectors 120 to 125 along the PR-7 road for residential development. The land acquisition process is slated to begin next month.
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