DTCP forms teams to check building plan violations after issuing occupancy papers

To curb building plan violations by property owners, especially after obtaining occupancy certificates, the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) on Tuesday constituted five committees for keeping a check on the same

To curb building plan violations by property owners, especially after obtaining occupancy certificates, the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) on Tuesday constituted five committees for keeping a check on the same.

DTCP officials said that illegal constructions made by property owners after obtaining an OC will be sealed and FIR registered against the owner, architect and contractor. (HT Archive)

DTCP officials said that illegal constructions made by property owners after obtaining an OC will be sealed and FIR registered against the owner, architect and contractor. The department on Monday recommended that an FIR be registered against a house owner in DLF Phase-1 for carrying out excessive construction, in violation of rules.

RS Bhath, district town planner (enforcement), said that the committees led by junior engineers would conduct an inspection on the tenth day after an occupancy certificate is issued and recheck the site within 45 days. “A thorough checking of the building and structure would be carried out to ensure that no violations exist. As per the directions of director, DTCP, it has been decided that if large-scale violations are found, then property would be sealed and cases registered against the property owners, architects and contractors. This has become necessary as we have received several complaints regarding this matter,” he said.

DTCP officials said that the main violations pertain to construction of rooms in stilts, closing of cutouts, extended constructions in setbacks and running commercial establishments. They said that after permissions were granted by the government to add a fourth floor, such types of violations have increased manifold.

In another development, the department on Tuesday wrote to the power utility Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) directing that power connections not be issued to illegal colonies. “We have already carried out demolition drives in large number of illegal colonies and registries of such properties are also under investigation by the revenue department. Curbing illegal colonies is a joint prerogative of all the agencies and this is the reason I have asked the power utility to ensure connections are not issued to illegal colonies,” Bhath said.

The letter to the DHBVN was written after a recent communique in which the power discom asked the DTCP to crack down on illegal colonies, failing which connections would be issued.

According to officials, the DTCP enforcement team has cleared illegal encroachments on more than 1000 acres in the recent past. “A large number of completed structures, boundary walls and road and pipelines have been demolished,” he said.