GHAZIABAD: Over 320 illegal colonies in the district were identified by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA). The GDA plans to make the list public soon on GDS’s portal so that buyers exercise caution while investing in such colonies.

According to officials, Unauthorised colonies have put an additional burden on the city’s resources. In the non-appearance of effective mechanisms, the development authority has failed to monitor the safety quality resulting in building collapse incidents. GDA has long tried to take in in illegal colonies and stopped the registries of such colonies a few years ago.

GDA official said that “Unauthorised colonies in the district are a bane, and they are increasing every year. The problem about these colonies is due to a lack of awareness, buyers invest in these properties and mediators, and land sharks have a big role to play in it. There is an increased pressure to provide civic amenities like water and electric supply once these colonies come up.

“These 321 unauthorised colonies identified in the district include Pandav Nagar, Nandini Enclave, Brij Nagri, Durga Enclave. So, we have decided that these 321 unauthorised colonies will be made public, and the list will shortly be uploaded to the portal. This will prevent people from investing in these colonies,” the official also added.

The problem was also addressed earlier by GDA by requesting the stamp and registry department to verify the land records and documents before executing land registries. The official also said that “But that did not materialise as there is a clause in the registration manual according to which registering officers will not take into account the validity of documents brought to them before executing registries”.

The official also added that registries in unauthorised colonies should keep taking place as in the past, the development authority had written to the state government, requesting it to make the GDA’s previous approval mandatory.