News: 25 illegally constructed warehouses demolished in Sector 94-18-09-2020

https://www.hindustantimes.com/gurugram/25-illegally-constructed-warehouses-demolished-in-sector-94/story-LFc1yQc5KlJ6D67ld7qTvK.html

The department of town and country planning (DTCP) on Thursday carried out a demolition drive, in which around 25 illegally constructed warehouses in Sector 94 were demolished. DTCP officials said that these warehouses were allegedly constructed on a land, which was marked as an open space in the master plan of the city. These warehouses — built on plots ranging between 500 to 1,500 square yard — had no permission for construction and change of land use, said DTCP officials.

RS Bhath, district town planner, who heads the enforcement wing, said that the demolition started around 11am and continued till late in the evening. “There are around 45 such illegal warehouses that have come up in Sector 94 near Hayatpur village in violation of rules. Around 25 such structures were demolished as these are under ‘open spaces’ as per the final development plan of Gurugram. The structures were demolished by the enforcement team with the support of around 200 police staff. This drive will continue till action is completed,” he said.

DTCP officials said that warehouses were rented out to different firms for anywhere between ₹50,000 to ₹1.5 lakh per month. The team also razed a road network that was constructed illegally in the area.

The action against the illegal warehouses in Sector 94 comes following a complaint by a city-based RTI activist, Raman Sharma, who had alleged that due to inaction by DTCP officials, various land grabbers had built warehouses, factories and other structures in Sector 94 in violation of rules.

Sharma had alleged that Sector 94 had been notified by the DTCP as an ‘open space’ and all kinds of construction was banned by the department without its permission. He had alleged that all constructions were in contravention of law and even sale deeds were registered in violation of rules.

Following his petition, a lower court in Gurugram had also issued directions for registration of a criminal case but the Punjab and Haryana High Court had given a stay in the matter after the order was challenged. “The violations should be probed properly and relevant action should be taken as per the law,” said Sharma.