GURUGRAM: The department of town and country planning (DTCP)’s enforcement wing razed eight buildings that were illegally constructed in Saraswati Kunj along Golf Course Road on Monday.
Officials said these houses were constructed without taking permission or getting building plans approved. Any kind of construction in the licensed colony is banned due to ongoing litigation.
In the past two years, the enforcement team has carried out more than 10 demolition drives in Saraswati Kunj and razed more than 3,000 unauthorised structures. But offenders again carry out construction in violation of the ban every few months after the demolitions.
Monday’s demolitions were carried out by district town planner Manish Yadav amid heavy police deployment. “Earlier, show-cause notices and restoration orders were issued by the department regarding illegal construction, but when the offenders did not stop illegal construction, demolition was carried out on Monday,” he said.
Dinesh Kumar, a resident, said: “Over the past five years, Saraswati Kunj has turned into a hub of illegal structures. Every now and then, demolition drives are carried out in the area, which causes a lot of inconvenience to residents.”
The department has also written to the deputy commissioner to get the colony’s boundaries barricaded and restrict the entry of any building material in the premises.
“Building material is being supplied at night to avoid detection. We have now directed the estate manager of Saraswati Kunj to ensure no transportation of building material takes place. We have also sent a communication to the MCG commissioner to declare such buildings unsafe and take action as required,” said the DTP.
Set up in 1983, Saraswati Kunj has been under a legal tussle since 2004 after the cooperative group allegedly allotted plots to 9,000 applicants in exchange for money when only 4,000 houses could be accommodated in the colony. On the ground, it has allotted 1,500 plots so far. In 2016, the state government formed a commission headed by retired IAS officer SP Sharma to identify the original owners of the plots.
