In Faridabad's Jeevan Nagar Part-2 colony, a single sheet of paper stuck outside homes is keeping families awake at night. It is no ordinary notice. It warns that the roofs over the heads of families who built their homes with years of hard labour and saved rupee by rupee could soon come down, with a bulldozer arriving any moment before their own eyes.
Administration cracks down on illegal colonies
The DTP Enforcement wing has stepped up action against colonies coming up illegally in Faridabad. The department has pasted notices in more than 10 illegal colonies, and Jeevan Nagar Part-2 is one of them. The moment the notices appeared, panic spread among the affected families. Residents say they built their houses with money earned through daily wage work and back-breaking labour, and the fear of demolition has shaken them deeply.
The story of Bipin Prasad from Bihar
Speaking to TrendKia, local resident Bipin Prasad said he originally hails from Bihar and has been living in Jeevan Nagar Part-2 for three years. According to him, building the house cost around 15 lakh rupees, and a notice was pasted on his home three days ago. He said he works as a labourer and built the house by saving every single rupee, while his children are still studying, leaving him unsure of what lies ahead.
Bipin Prasad also said he had bought the land from a dealer who never told him the colony was illegal. Instead, he was told to build a house and live in peace. He has built his home on 55 gaj of land. The administration came, pasted the notice and left. He points out that even today the lanes here are unpaved and the colony is not fully developed.
Unpaved lanes and a lack of basic facilities
The condition of Jeevan Nagar Part-2 is adding to the residents' woes. In the areas where notices have been put up, most lanes are unpaved and the roads are bumpy. During the monsoon, it becomes difficult for people to even step out of their homes. Despite this absence of basic facilities, families built their houses here, but the arrival of the notices has now cast a shadow over their future.
Even those spared the notice are anxious
Local resident Bhairav Prasad said no notice was put up on his house, yet he considers the action completely wrong. According to him, people built their homes by saving rupee by rupee, and they did not even know whether the land was government-owned or the colony illegal. He hails from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh and says people settled here after investing their hard-earned money.
Another resident, Ramnivas Prajapati, said his house does not carry a notice, but many houses have been served notices while many have not. He said the colony has not yet been approved, and dealers lure people with low prices to sell them plots. According to him, plots here are going for 20 to 22 thousand rupees per gaj, and people did not buy the land cheaply but paid according to what they could afford.
A home built by hand, served a notice the moment it was ready
Vikrama Bhagat, a resident of Dabua colony, works as a mason. He said the house that has been served a notice, a home worth around 15 lakh rupees, was built by his own hands. According to him, the house was completed and a notice was pasted on it almost immediately afterwards. The biggest question now in Jeevan Nagar Part-2 is what happens next to these families who built their homes by investing years of labour and their entire savings. After the notices, they are living in a state of confusion and fear.
