Construction in 11 illegal colonies along Jail Road demolished

Over 400 constructions, mostly comprising plinths and boundary walls, on plots were demolished on Tuesday in 11 illegal colonies that were being developed along the Jail Road, officials said.

The area falls under the revenue estates of Bhondsi, Badshahpur and Dhumaspur villages, on the outskirts of the city. The large-scale demolition drive was carried out by a team of the department of town and country planning (DTCP), supported by a police contingent.

The drive went on from 11.30am to 5.30pm, said DTCP officials, adding that action was initiated in these colonies because the constructions were coming up on agricultural land, without any permission for change of land use from the authorities.

RS Bhath, district town planner, said that a detailed survey was carried out on Monday along the Jail Road and the illegal colonies were identified during a three-hour exercise. “The action has been started in this area because most of the colonies are still coming up and people have just constructed either the plinths or boundary walls. This will cause minimum financial loss to owners but if they continue to build, then the department will be constrained to demolish the houses as well,” he said.

Around three kilometres of the road network that had been illegally built to facilitate the construction of these colonies on both sides of the road was also demolished, the department said. The demolition team comprised 20 personnel from the DTCP, 100 police personnel from Sohna and Badshahpur police stations, and three earthmoving machines for carrying out the demolition.

DTCP officials said that demolition was carried out on 400 plots in the area and on enquiry, it was found that these were sold for anywhere between ₹15,000 to ₹30,000 per square yard, depending on the location. The size of the plots was found to be sized between 50 sq yd and 250 sq yd mostly. The smaller plots were in higher demand, the officials said.

“We have also sensitised the locals in the area, including landowners, not to develop such colonies as these are against the law. No construction without the permission of government is allowed and it would not be tolerated,” he said.

To curb sales of plots in these illegal colonies, the department has also decided to identify registries carried out illegally and bring the same to the notice of the deputy commissioner of Gurugram for further action. As per rules, a sale deed for an area of 2 kanals of land can be registered only after producing a no-objection certificate from the DTCP.

More such demolition drives will be carried out in Sohna, Farrukhnagar, Pataudi and Manesar in the coming weeks to stop the development of illegal colonies, officials said.