Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The struggle by several thousand people came to an end as a total of 31 more colonies in the city were legalised by the state government on Friday.

Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) distributed the non-objection certificates to residents of these colonies for building permissions, water infrastructure, electricity infrastructure etcin an event held at Jal Sabhagrah.

MP Shankar Lalwani, Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava, MLAs Mahendra Hardia, Ramesh Mendola, Akash Vijayvargiya, IMC chairman Munna Lal Yadav were presented when Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the Su-Raj Colony scheme at Jabalpur.

The program was telecasted live at Indore’s JalSabhagrah. Addressing the event in the city, Mayor PushyamitraBhargav said that the Mayor-in-Council has taken a resolution to legalise a total of 100 colonies within a period of one year but it has surpassed the figure and regularized a total of 131 illegal colonies in the city so far.

“As many as 100 illegal colonies were legalized about three months ago and 31 more were added to the tally on Friday,” he said. “Now, the IMC will clear building maps and banks will give loans for the construction of houses and other establishments in these colonies.

The standard of living of the citizens will improve in these colonies as civil infrastructure can now be developed there,” he said. Bhargav said that they would now undertake process to legalize 8 to 10 more unauthorized colonies in September.

Lalwani said that Shivraj Singh Chouhan government had met its commitment of regularizing the authorized colonies. Many illegal colonies across the state, including 131 in Indore, have regularized so far and many more to follow in months to come, he added.

Hardia said that he can understand how big this moment is for people whose colonies have been legalized. I slogged and struggled for with many of them for many years, he added.

Mendola said that the residents know the stigma attached to the illegal colony status. “Neither they get loans nor do they get building permissions and access to various other facilities. Despite living in a city, they remain deprived of many facilities,” he added.

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