Illegal shops on green belts along Golf Course Ext Road demolished

In a drive to demolish encroachments and illegal establishments on green belts, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) on Thursday demolished 35 shops on green belts along the Golf Course Extension Road.

The Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) and GMDA have decided to rid encroachments in all green belts in their areas of jurisdiction. Officials said that they have identified encroachments along major roads, wherein which shops, vends and other such establishments have come up on green belts.

The shops demolished on Thursday included nurseries, furniture showrooms and auto spare parts stores, among several others.

RS Bhath, district town planner, GMDA, said that they have identified roads and stretches in GMDA areas and private licensed colonies, where green belts and government land have been illegally encroached upon. “We have received complaints from residents and our officials have surveyed these roads. An inspection of this stretch (Golf Course Extension Road) was carried out a day earlier and similar action would be taken in other areas,” he said.

Bhath has appealed to owners of shops and vends that have come up illegally in green belts to start vacating the same. “The drive against illegal encroachments would soon be started in areas under the newly formed municipal corporation in Manesar too,” he said.

The GMDA team, which carried out the demolition drive, was supported by a large contingent of police as well as estate officer Rajeev Lamba and duty magistrate Ajay Malik.

Sandeep Lot, junior engineer, Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran, who was part of the team said that the shop owners and those living in tenements were allowed to remove the goods from their establishments before the structures were demolished. “We asked the owners to remove their goods and carried out demolition thereafter,” he said.