Masterplan for Mohali challenged in court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notices to the state and the Greater Mohali Urban Development Authority (GMADA) on a public interest litigation,challenging the masterplan for the district. The petition was filed by Kamal Kumar Sawhney and a few residents of Mohali,who run their businesses in village Balongi,Daon and Ballomajra on the right side of the highway towards Kharar.

The petitioners said they were aggrieved by their land being shown as residential instead of mixed use,as it was earlier shown according to the 2006 masterplan. The planning of the area is to be undertaken by the District Planning Committees and not by the PUDA or GMADA. The PIL has demanded corrections to be made in the masterplan dated June 3,2009 in which a large track of land has been changed from mixed land use to residential use in villages Balongi and Ballomajra.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh issued notices to the opposite parties and asked the state and GMADA to explain why the implementation of GMADA not be stayed. The PIL was argued by senior advocate H S Grewal.