Chandigarh, May 7 -- Moving forward firmly with its slum-free city campaign, the UT administration on Tuesday razed the city's last major slum - Janta Colony in Sector 25- within two weeks of bulldozing Sanjay Colony in Industrial Area, another large illegal settlement. With this, only two other slums, which are much smaller, remain in the city: Shahpur Colony in Sector 38 and Adarsh Colony in Sector 54, which are also set to be history within a month. By flattening Janta Colony, the UT Estate Office reclaimed 10 acres of prized government land, valued at Rs.350 crore, where a dispensary, primary school, community centre and shopping area are planned. Backed by around 1,500 police personnel, officials from the municipal corporation, Estate Office and other departments, the bulldozers started rolling around 6 am on Tuesday, and by 4 pm, around 2,500 illegal shanties were brought down, wrapping up the demolition drive. While most of the around 5,000 slum-dwellers had vacated the area on Monday evening, moving to Mohali, Maloya and Ram Darbar, some were seen scrambling with their belongings on Tuesday morning before the drive began. Janta Colony was established in 2002 and was home to labourers, hawkers, industrial workers, daily wagers, sanitation workers, domestic helpers and porters. The administration had initially planned to demolish the colony in mid-2022, but the residents approached the Punjab and Haryana high court, which stayed the proceedings. However, earlier this week, the high court dismissed the residents' petition, clearing the final legal hurdle for demolition. Next in the demolition list are Shahpur Colony in Sector 38 and Adarsh Colony in Sector 54 - both of which came up around two decades ago. In Shahpur Colony, around 4 acres of government land worth Rs.150 crore has been encroached upon by around 300 shanties. Over at Adarsh Colony, nearly 10 acres worth Rs.300 crore are illegally occupied by around 1,000 shanties. Chandigarh deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav said the operation was carried out peacefully and the entire reclaimed area had been fenced. "In case anyone attempts to reoccupy the land, we will register a case against them," he said, adding, "Shahpur Colony and Adarsh Colony will also be razed within a month." On steps being taken to prevent the emergence of such slums in future, Yadav said the UT Estate Office had been directed to regularly monitor vacant government land and clear any encroachment immediately. Earlier, on April 24, the administration had demolished 1,000 makeshift structures in Sanjay Colony, Industrial Area, Phase 1, which were encroaching upon nearly six acres of government land worth Rs.250 crore. The UT administration has been working on making the city slum-free since the early 2000s. In 2006, it had come up with a comprehensive plan to replace slums with alternative housing. The ambitious plan involved earmarking 356 acres - nearly 20% of Chandigarh's 2,811 acres of net vacant land - for constructing rehabilitation flats. Under the Chandigarh Small Flats Scheme, 2006, a total of 25,728 flats were planned for the rehabilitation of 23,841 families residing across 18 illegal colonies in the city. These families, comprising over 1 lakh individuals, were identified through a survey. While most had been living in Chandigarh for more than 10 years, some had been residents for over 20 years. In return, relocated families were required to pay a nominal monthly rent. However, delayed or non-payment of rent has led to massive dues piling up over the years. In 2013, the administration razed Colony Number 5 and then Colony Number 4 in 2022. Together these slums had occupied over 165 acres of government land. Apart from this, the administration also demolished Mazdoor Colony, Kuldeep Colony, Pandit Colony, Nehru Colony, Ambedkar Colony, Kajheri Colony and Madrasi Colony over the years....