DTCP, MCG demolish 22 illegal structures in Gurugram

GURUGRAM: The civic and town planning authorities on Thursday demolished 22 illegal structures in Palam Vihar. The authorities in the past few months had razed around 50 illegal colonies in the city.

Of late, there has been a spike in complaints about illegal construction on unlicensed land adjoining licensed colonies. During the lockdown, plot owners on unlicensed land had constructed shops and other commercial establishments without seeking permission from the authorities.

District town planner RS Batth, who was the duty magistrate, said illegal houses, boundary walls and shops were razed in a joint operation. “One illegal house, four shops and three boundary walls and an under-construction house were demolished during the drive. Around 50 policemen were present during the drive to prevent any untoward incident and residents’ protest,” he said.

It has been decided that no illegal buildings will be allowed in sectors. The DTCP along with other agencies will launch demolition drives on unlicensed land within licensed colonies in coming days also.

In other demolition drive, an enforcement team of MCG freed prime government land in Indira Colony 1 on Thursday. Around 12 shops constructed on the government land were razed using earthmovers.

The enforcement team had received a complaint about illegal construction on the prime HSVP land. When the review team visited the site, it found around 12 shops on the land. Upon an enquiry, it was found that the shop owners had no permission for construction or commercial activities. During the drive, residents in the area tried to protest the drive, but the police team present on the spot controlled them.

The issue was also raised during the MCG House meeting, after which commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh had directed officials to initiate action and get the government land freed from encroachers.