Punjabi Colony in GTB Nagar is soon to be flattened, with only one of 25 buildings standing still. The BMC is set to start pulling down this structure, which has been declared dilapidated, next week. The residents, however, still do not have any certainty about redevelopment and are being forced to live in rented homes. The residents are in talks with MHADA about redevelopment but it will take around six months to arrive at a decision, said a MHADA official.

The colony was constructed by the government on Collector’s land between 1958 and 1962 to house refugees from the Punjab province in Pakistan. There were 25 four-storey structures with a total of 1,200 apartments. There have been talks of redevelopment since the past 15 or so years after the buildings began to develop cracks, but it did not materialise so far.