No provision for green belts in colonies,says MC

Going by what Batra says,residents are not supposed to develop even an inch of green area outside their houses.

When Newsline asked him whether there is a provision of up to 2 feet green belts on both sides of the road,Batra clarified: “We have no such plan and all roads are end to end in colonies.”

He,however,said: “Most city residents have encroached upon the MC roads and they have either made parking areas or personal lawns in the name of green belts. This needs to be checked. In BRS Nagar,a city resident had filed a writ petition in court stating that residents are encroaching upon the roads by making ramps and green belts due to which roads are being narrowed.”

Batra,however,agreed with the plea of residents that end to end roads will turn the city into a concrete jungle and green area on both sides of roads up to a certain limit is a must for rainwater harvesting.

“This rule has not been included in our plan yet,but amendments can be brought about by the Punjab government. As of now we have asked private building owners to make provisions of rainwater harvesting during construction,” he said.

The MC team had demolished roadside ramps and green belts in E block,BRS Nagar,on Tuesday to which the area councillor and residents had raised objection.

Residents in areas such as Sarabha Nagar,Gurdev Nagar and Model Town etc have also encroached up to 6-7 feet area outside their houses in the name of green belts.

Though Dugri comes under PUDA,which permits green belts up to 2 feet,residents here have encroached upon 10 feet land while a few are using public land to park their cars.

Interestingly,the MC has allocated a budget of Rs 1 crore to undertake plantation drives to increase the green cover on city roads.