Residents of Sector-13 and the Old Housing Board Colony in Karnal city have opposed the construction of a wall along the rear of their houses under the Divya Nagar Yojana, a city beautification project being implemented by the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC).
The residents said the proposed six-foot-high wall would block their direct access to the main road and cause daily inconvenience. They clarified that they were not against the beautification drive, but said public consultation should have been undertaken before launching such projects to ensure they benefit residents effectively.
A senior doctor, who has run a hospital in the colony for the past 38 years, said the Housing Board Colony was developed in 1975 and that sewer and water pipelines are located outside the colony along the boundary wall. As the area is low-lying, sewer cleaning is required almost every week and is only possible from the rear due to the lack of direct front access.
“We were surprised that the KMC planned the beautification project without consulting local residents and started the work. We have been informed that a six-feet-high wall is being erected along our houses. We had opened two-feet-wide gates at the backside of our homes to directly access the main road,” he said.
Residents added that they regularly use these gates to drop and pick up children from school buses and for daily movement. They said the wall would force them to take longer routes to reach the main road.
Dr VK Sharma, former Director of Health Services, who has also been running a hospital in the colony for years, said no beautification project could succeed without public participation. “Citizens should be made stakeholders and caretakers of such projects,” he said.
Another resident raised security concerns, claiming the wall could increase the risk of thefts at the rear of houses. “It will become a major security concern for us,” she said.
According to KMC officials, the Divya Nagar Yojana was announced by former Haryana Chief Minister and current Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on March 8, 2022, to promote social, cultural and environmental development of urban areas through beautification.
Another resident said special tiles laid on a footpath for disabled persons had been damaged due to wall construction works.
The Rs 8.66 crore project covers beautification of five major roads in Karnal spanning around 8.4 kilometres. The stretches include ITI Chowk to Maharaja Agrasen Chowk, Agrasen Chowk to Ambedkar Chowk, Ambedkar Chowk to PWD Rest House, Mini Secretariat Chowk to Shri Krishan Pranami Mandir on Arut Ji Maharaj Road, and Nirmal Kutia to the Sector-12 petrol pump.
KMC Executive Engineer Priyanka Saini said plantation work would be carried out under the project and the wall was being built to ensure watering of plants does not affect nearby houses. She added that the corporation’s intention was not to inconvenience residents.
“Under this project, along with plantation, there would be sitting arrangements for walkers,” she said.
