Google Pro to help freeze boundaries of colonies in Punjab

Tribune News Service

Patiala, July 3

The Chief Town Planner, PUDA, has directed ADCs and chief administrators across the state to freeze the boundaries of various colonies and issue orders in respect to their status as per data of Google Earth Pro of March 2018. The activity will be carried out as per the regularisation policy, 2018, according to which the Google image data can be checked to identify the status of construction activity on a land.

Google Earth Pro is a software that offers satellite and aerial imagery and allows visualisation, assessment, overlay and creation of geospatial data.

The Chief Town Planner said, “The best available source to identify the boundaries of colonies as on March 2018 is the historical data of Google Earth Pro or satellite data already procured by the department. Hence, ADCs and ACAs concerned are advised to follow instructions while fixing boundaries of colonies as on March 19, 2018.” The officials have been directed to identify the boundaries of colonies with the help of satellite data of March 2018.

Many colonies have been given regularisation certificates on the basis of sale deeds signed on stamp papers alone. On the other hand, action (registration of FIR) has been ordered for colonisers who developed illegal colonies in violation of the PAPRA before March 2018, but failed to apply for regularisation.

An insider in the Municipal Corporation of Patiala said, “A number of colonies have been regularised merely on the basis of stamp paper sale deeds, which are prone to misuse. All colonies should be screened through the Google image data.”

Chief Town Planner Pankaj Bawa, when contacted, said the direction would apply for illegal colonies where the officials concerned faced issues in identifying the boundaries or did not have the requisite documents. He said a few officials had raised issues in freezing out the boundaries.

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