Former Chief of Army Staff: Will begin signature campaign against apartmentalisation in Haryana

Gen Malik on January 12 said how he had written to Manohar Lal Khattar about the “rampant apartmentalisation” but the Haryana chief minister did not even acknowledge it let alone take action. “And he hasn’t …till now,” he said when asked if Khattar had responded since then.

Gen Malik said it seemed building bylaws were changed in the state without consulting the stakeholders. “It is apparent that building bylaws have been changed without consulting the residents and the stakeholders and now because so many people are approaching. We have decided to begin a signature campaign now because it is apparent now that we will have to go to the high court and Supreme Court also, if required,” Gen Malik said.

Lt Colonel (retd) PK Jetly, a resident of Sector 4 in Panchkula, who was at Gen Malik’s residence, said he was there to join the fight against “apartmentalisation”. “Yes, we will go to court for relief. There is rampant apartmentalisation all over. It needs to stop,” he said.

Deepak Sharma, a resident of Sector 2 too joined them and said, “When I foresee my rights to sunlight…fresh air…being violated, I will speak up against those policies which have been framed without allowing people of the area who have been residing for decades..we are building this momentum and take the aggrieved voices to the court.”

The Supreme Court on January 10, in a landmark judgment, banned the conversion or bifurcation of a single residential unit into apartments in Chandigarh. The case was heard by a bench of Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna. The order applies to Phase I, that is Sectors 1 to 30, considered a heritage zone.

Fearing that the builders will now move to Panchkula and many of them have already started converting single units into apartments and selling further, voices from Panchkula have been raised against the move.