Illegal colonies mushrooming in Bhopal despite ban: BJP MP Alok Sharma

Bhopal, Sep 21 (IANS) BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP from Bhopal Alok Sharma said on Saturday that illegal colonies are mushrooming in the city despite the ban on it by the state government.

Sharma, who was earlier Mayor of Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), said that he will chair a meeting with the district administration and other stakeholders to discuss this issue.

Sharma said that a strong nexus of land grabbers and officials are involved in Bhopal. "Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has clearly banned establishing illegal colonies. We will prepare a list of those who are violating norms and will initiate action," Sharma added.

Sharma also said that the revenue officials, including patwaris and tehsildars, have not been shifted for several years in Bhopal. "The officials are also involved in this business. They would purchase lands in the name of their drivers and relatives and they establish illegal colonies," Sharma said.

Notably, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav-led MP government has made it clear that it will not regularise illegal colonies. Instead, it will bring a tough law to keep a check on illegal colonies in the state.

The government had also told the Assembly in July that it would come up with a bill to this effect. The government had then accepted that a strong nexus had been involved in developing illegal colonies, and that needed to stop.

CM Mohan Yadav's decision to not regularise illegal colonies was against his predecessor Shivraj Singh Chouhan's decision. During the state Assembly election, ex-CM Chouhan had announced that all illegal colonies developed between December 2016 and December 2022 would be regularised.