UT gets serious about Sukhna

Tells Punjab, Haryana to ban high-rises in catchment area

Chandigarh, January 4
The UT Administration has asked the governments of Punjab and Haryana to stop construction of high-rise buildings in the Sukhna catchment area. In a letter forwarded to both the states, the Administration has also raised the points of the Punjab and Haryana High Court order which has banned construction in the catchment area. The Tribune was the first to highlight the issue of construction activity in the catchment area.

A senior official of the Administration said construction activity was going on in the Kansal area where people had constructed five or six floor residential buildings, which would be harmful for Sukhna Lake. He further said the authorities concerned were not checking the construction activity.

The High Court had already constituted a committee for the demarcation of the catchment area near the lake. The committee had been constituted to ensure that there was no illegal construction in the catchment area and had been asked to submit a report on February 13.

Acting on a petition filed in public interest to save the lake, a Division Bench of the High Court had on March 14, 2011, banned construction of any kind in the catchment area falling in Haryana and Punjab.

Building projects, particularly societies, are a major concern in the area, especially the changed tracts of the rivulets feeding the lake. Constructions have blocked the natural path of these rivulets, which pose a threat to fields and even buildings next to the original tract.

The issue of haphazard constructions in the areas falling in Punjab and Haryana and adjoining Sukhna has assumed bigger significance with big realtors coming up with mega residential projects.

‘Casual’ Admn

When the Punjab and Haryana High Court banned the construction activity, the amicus curiae in the case, advocate Tanu Bedi had questioned the casual approach of the UT Administration towards the lake and for failing to keep a check on the increasing rate of urbanisation in the catchment area. She had contended that if the urbanisation trend was not checked at this stage, the lake would die.