Two illegal colonies razed in Manesar, 10 acres of prime land freed

GURUGRAM: The enforcement team of the department of town and country planning (DTCP) razed two illegal colonies spread on 10 acres of prime land in Bhangrola village of Manesar on Monday.

During the demolition drive, three under-construction houses, two warehouses, 10 other structures and a borewell were razed by the enforcement team. The team also demolished boundary walls to prevent redevelopment of the colonies.

District town planner (enforcement) RS Batth said the drive will be carried out for two weeks. “During the drive, around 12 illegal colonies identified by the department will be razed,” he said.

Assistant town planner Ashish Sharma said the department is keeping a strict check on mushrooming of illegal colonies in Gurgaon. On the directions of DTCP director KM Pandurang, the enforcement team will monitor several areas to prevent illegal colonies from coming up or expansion of old colonies without mandatory permission from the department concerned, he said.

The enforcement team also demolished a road network with the help of earthmovers. Sharma said DTCP will write to the police commissioner, asking him to register an FIR against such developers who have duped several homebuyers of their money by selling illegal plots.

According to Section 7A of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act 1975, a no-objection certificate has to be obtained from the enforcement wing of DTCP to register a plot with a size of less than two kanals to ensure that the land is not divided to create smaller plots for developing unauthorised colonies.

But violations have been committed across many villages in Gurgaon, and hundreds of illegal colonies have mushroomed in the last few years.

Meanwhile, an unauthorised shop in front of Regal Garden in Sector 82 was demolished after complaints by residents. A gate illegally erected on a 24-metre-wide sector road by a developer in Sector 83 was also removed.