Mohali, May 24 -- Launching a crackdown on illegal colonies, the enforcement team of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) carried out a demolition drive in Jhampur village and 39 West housing society in Sector 122 on Friday, razing around 30 illegal structures. The action came days after HT reported on May 19 how nearly 15 illegal colonies had mushroomed in Mohali right under the nose of GMADA despite the Punjab government's repeated claims of clampdown on such settlements. In Jhampur village, around 25 under-construction houses and other illegal structures were brought down. The GMADA team, led by officer Arvind Pannu, reached the site around 11.30 am and the drive concluded by 4 pm. The drive was also conducted in Phase 3 of the 39 West society, located in Sector 122, Mohali. According to members of the Residents' Welfare Association (RWA), certain colonisers were attempting to illegally extend the colony by carving out additional plots beyond the approved site boundaries, despite the cancellation of their licence. These colonisers had also connected the new plots to water, sewerage and electricity connections from the existing infrastructure. GMADA officials dismantled around seven such structures on Friday. Hirdesh Madan, secretary of the Residents' Welfare Association, 39 West housing society, said, "We had raised this issue with GMADA several times in the past. We welcome this action against the illegal construction by the builder." Harinder Pal Singh, district town planner (Regulatory), GMADA, said the demolition drive will continue to remove other illegal settlements. HT had earlier reported that these unauthorised colonies-spread across nearly 50 acres in Sectors 120 to 123 and covering villages such as Daun, Raipur, Behlolpur, Barmajra, Tarauli, and Jhampur-had been carved out of agricultural land without following the mandatory Change of Land Use (CLU) process, which requires significant fees and official permissions. Property dealers have bought fertile agricultural land and divided it into plots ranging from 100 to 150 square yards, selling them to home hopefuls. Following the HT report, the GMADA chief administrator directed the officers concerned to submit a report within two days, after which appropriate action will be taken against the officials responsible. According to a senior GMADA officer, the responsibility did not lie solely with GMADA but also with the district administration. "Why is land being registered without a no-objection certificate (NOC) from GMADA and why is PSPCL installing power meters in these illegal colonies?" the officer questioned. In August last year, while scrapping the requirement of a no-objection certificate (NOC) for registration of land and property, the Punjab housing and urban development department had directed the chief administrators of regional development authorities across the state to ensure that no illegal colonies are allowed to come up. The authorities were further directed to utilise recent Google satellite imagery to identify illegal constructions and initiate prompt legal action againstviolators....