HC junks GMADA’s status report on unauthorised constructions in Siswan village, terms it ‘incomplete’

The bench was told by advocate GS Patwalia that the report talked about issuance of notice to the defaulters. But it did not mention the dates when the notices were issued. Even the ‘remarks column’ in the affidavit was silent as far as action taken was concerned.

The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) on Tuesday dismissed the status report filed by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) on unauthorised constructions in Siswan village, and slapped a ₹25,000 fine on it for painting an “incomplete picture”.

Granting GMADA liberty to file a fresh affidavit, the court directed that the new reply must place on record the entire factual background, including issuance of notices, nature of violations, action taken so far, and the present status of proceedings against each alleged defaulter. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry said that the status report filed in the matter did not give the complete picture, especially as to when the notices were issued to 193 defaulters in various villages across Mohali.

The bench was told by advocate GS Patwalia that the report talked about issuance of notice to the defaulters. But it did not mention the dates when the notices were issued. Even the ‘remarks column’ in the affidavit was silent as far as action taken was concerned.

It was also stated that GMADA was playing “hide and seek” with the court and not coming clean. “First GMADA files a very evasive reply, saying that there are only 28 defaulters, and that they will take action. When I cry hoarse, the forest department files an affidavit saying there are 182 (defaulters) not 28. Then GMADA was caught on the back foot, and now this affidavit has come, which is misleading and deceptive,” Patwalia added.

Last month, the HC had flagged a glaring mismatch in official figures on illegal constructions in and around Siswan. GMADA, in its reply, informed the court that it conducted a district-wide survey and identified 193 unauthorised constructions across Mohali, including the 28 earlier reported from Siswan village. The bench was told that action has already been initiated against the violators.