Illegal building near IT Park to be razed, says DC

The notice to the property owner has been issued under Section 12 (2) of the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1992 for ignoring the blanket ban on construction in the environmentally sensitive area

The administration has said that it would soon demolish an illegal building near the environmentally sensitive area of the Sukhna Lake and the IT Park in Kishangarh village of Manimajra. The land is strictly reserved for agricultural purposes, it said.

The Sukhna Lake and the IT Park areas are protected under the law for their importance to the city. (HT File)

According to the administration, the owner ignored the blanket ban on construction in this zone. The two-storey building indicates that construction had been on for some times. The administration stated that the owner was raising fresh unauthorised construction at his farmhouse. The notice to the property owner has been issued under Section 12 (2) of the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1992.

When contacted, deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said, “The enforcement team has already pasted a notice on the building. An order will be passed soon by the SDM for razing it.”

Eco-sensitive zone

The Sukhna Lake and the IT Park areas are protected under the law for their importance to the city in terms of the ecological balance these lend to the ecology of the region.

In October 2022, the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) had refused to grant approval for Chandigarh Housing Board’s (CHB’s) IT Park housing project, citing that the site fell within the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary. The ministry also said that high-rise buildings here could disrupt the flight paths of migratory birds.

After that, the CHB moved on to planning a low-rise project rather than a high-rise. In this particular case, the primary concrete shell of the building towered over the surrounding flat farmland. Sources said a large swimming pool was also fully excavated and constructed, replacing what should have been fertile soil with a massive concrete basin. Support infrastructure, including service areas and heavy foundations, was laid. All of this will now be demolished.

Agricultural mandate flouted

The Chandigarh administration has designated this specific belt exclusively for agricultural use. Under these rules, no permanent commercial structures are permitted. The shift from a green farm to a concrete multi-floor complex also represented a blatant breach of the Periphery Control Act, which was designed to protect the city’s outskirts from commercial encroachment.