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Chandigarh admn puts foot down, tells furniture market traders to vacate land in 2 weeks
Chandigarh estate officer-cum-deputy commissioner on Thursday issued eviction orders, stating that notices will be served within the next two to three days and the shopkeepers will be required to vacate the premises within two weeks
In a firm move to reclaim encroached government land, the UT administration has directed shopkeepers at the Sector 53/54 furniture market to vacate the land within 15 days, asserting that no alternative site for relocation will be provided.
UT estate officer-cum-deputy commissioner of Chandigarh on Thursday issued eviction orders, stating that notices will be served within the next two to three days and the shopkeepers will be required to vacate the premises within two weeks.
Established in 1985, the unauthorised furniture market, comprising 116 shops, is illegally occupying approximately 15 acres of agricultural land in Sectors 53 and 54.
Even on June 22, 2024, the land acquisition department had issued a notice to the shopkeepers to demolish their structures and vacate the government land within a week. But the shopkeepers had submitted representations to the UT administration, following which the then deputy commissioner, Vinay Pratap Singh, had temporarily halted the demolition drive.
The shopkeepers had requested for an opportunity to buy shops in the upcoming Bulk Material Market in Sector 56 on open auction. They had offered to pay rent of the area encroached upon by them, as assessed by the administration, till the auction is conducted, which the administration has now completely rejected.
The June notice had reiterated that the land had been acquired by the Chandigarh administration in 2002 and was part of Badheri village. Despite repeated efforts by the shopkeepers to obtain a stay order from the Punjab and Haryana high court, all petitions were dismissed in September 2023, and the court had upheld the administration’s right to reclaim the land.
Sanjeev Bhandari, president of the Furniture Market Association, said, “We have not yet received any formal intimation from the UT administration. Once we do, we will decide the next course of action.”
‘Trespasser has no legal right to demand alternative site’
In the eviction orders, the UT estate officer explained that the representation and demands of the petitioners and others, seeking preferential allotment of sites for running furniture shops, cannot be accepted.
The land on which the petitioners claim to be conducting business was acquired on February 14, 2002. A total of 227.22 acres—comprising 114.43 acres in Kajheri village, 69.79 acres in Badheri village, and 43 acres in Palsora village—was acquired for the public purpose of developing the third phase of Sectors 53, 54 and 55 in Chandigarh.
The original landowners accepted compensation, including the enhanced compensation assessed by the Punjab and Haryana high court.
The order further stated that following the award of the land, and in line with a March 2020 Supreme Court judgment, individuals conducting business illegally on government land are considered “trespassers”. As such, a trespasser has no legal right to seek preferential allotment of plots for running a business.
Sitting on a powder keg
The furniture market, located on a busy artery connecting Chandigarh and Mohali, has been plagued by frequent fire incidents.
As the market is illegal, the municipal corporation has imposed no fire-safety measures. Consequently, the market has seen over a dozen fire mishaps since its inception four decades ago.
The shops operate from temporary structures, with no fire exits, inadequate ventilation and minimal spacing between shops, which store large quantities of furniture and flammable materials like thinners.
Improper vehicle parking in front of the shops remains a constant cause of traffic congestion on the busy stretch.
In the early 1990s, the UT administration had tried to remove the shops, but the traders got a stay order from the Punjab and Haryana high court in 1993 and there was no move to shift the market until June 2024 when UT issued the first eviction notice.
Shopkeepers contend that the administration has failed to shift the market despite several requests, even though the traders are paying around ₹10 crore GST every year.
