MOHALI, 24 June — Mohali Deputy Mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi has raised alarm over the unchecked rise in jhuggis (shanties) across the city and the mounting pressure they are placing on public infrastructure. In a strongly worded letter to the Deputy Commissioner, Bedi urged immediate intervention and accused the administration of “negligence and inaction.”
“The Chandigarh administration has shown consistency in removing illegal encroachments, while Mohali’s response has been extremely slow and indifferent,” Bedi said in the letter, referring to a recent anti-encroachment drive in Chandigarh’s Phase 2 area.
Following that drive, Bedi said, many jhuggi dwellers migrated into Mohali’s residential pockets, including Amb Sahib Colony, Udham Singh Colony, Jagatpura, Badmajra, and surrounding areas. “This sudden influx is now putting an immense burden on the city’s already strained infrastructure,” he stated.
He pointed to the pressure on essential services like water supply, sanitation, drainage, and waste management, calling it “unsustainable” if left unaddressed. “The administration must not wait for a crisis to act. We need a coordinated plan to address these encroachments and protect public infrastructure,” Bedi said.
The Deputy Mayor urged the Deputy Commissioner to immediately deploy field teams to assess the encroachments and initiate necessary steps. He also suggested that urban housing and welfare policies be revisited to prevent the unchecked spread of shanty settlements in Mohali.
