GURUGRAM: The department of town and country planning (DTCP) this week issued show-cause notices to the owners of 650 properties in DLF-2 for illegal construction and carrying out commercial operations in residential areas.
The notices were issued after a large-scale survey, carried out on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court, found widespread violation of rules in the city’s upscale residential sectors.
DTCP officials said their teams surveyed 15,000 properties in DLF-1-5 and found that norms were flouted in 4,200 of them. The violations included unauthorised construction, construction other than approved building plan, and illegal commercial operations in residential areas.
“We identified 650 properties in DLF-2 where violations were recorded. Owners were asked to respond to the notices. If their replies are unsatisfactory, strict action will follow, including directives to restore properties to their original state,” said Amit Madholia, district town planner (enforcement).
Officials said the department will also alert the revenue department about these violations. “We will request the revenue department not to register property deeds for these 650 properties until the illegalities are resolved,” an official said.
TOI had reported earlier this month that DTCP had issued 1,138 notices to property owners in DLF-3, and more notices were to be sent. Homeowners who received the notices earlier were given time till Jan 31 to restore the sanctioned property designs and shut down all illegal commercial activity by then. If they didn’t, the next step would be demolition and sealing drives, the department had said.
The enforcement drive aims to curb rampant misuse of residential properties for commercial purposes, which has long been a contentious issue in Gurgaon. Officials said that some “non-nuisance activities” can be permitted in residential areas, but even those require approval from DTCP and payment of fees.
The issue of illegal construction had also reached the Punjab and Haryana high court, where DLF City RWA had filed a plea in 2020, seeking action against unauthorised construction and misuse of residential properties for commercial purposes.
The department, in its reponse to the high court, had outlined its progress and planned steps to tackle illegal construction. It had also assured the single-judge bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur that all necessary action was being taken.
Among the measures listed by the department was revocation of occupancy certificates (OCs) granted to 81 properties in DLF-5, and cutting water and sewer connections to these properties.
Between 2010 and 2024, the department carried out 44 demolition and sealing drives across the five phases of DLF, officials had said.
