Mall among 28 commercial units sealed in Sushant Lok-2’s residential areas

Manish Yadav, district town planner (enforcement), said a mall, called “Desi Mall”, was operating illegally on six residential plots

Resuming its drive against commercial activities being operated from residential properties in licensed colonies, the enforcement wing of the department of town and country planning (DTCP) on Thursday sealed 28 business units being illegally operated in Sushant Lok-2.

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The six-hour long drive started around 11am and the DTCP officials said all errant business units were identified earlier, and notices were issued to the property owners to stop these operations but they did not act on the notices, leading to the sealing drive, the officials said,

Manish Yadav, district town planner (enforcement), said a mall, called “Desi Mall”, was operating illegally on six residential plots without any permission and it was sealed by the department.

“We received a number of complaints in this matter and several other shops and commercial units were identified by the team over the past one month after which this drive was conducted. Around 28 commercial units operating in 20 houses were sealed in the drive with the help of a large team of Gurugram police,” Yadav said.

Yadav said the team sealed commercial offices running on eight floors of two houses, country mall running on six plots from temporary structures, property dealer offices running from houses, doctor’s clinic, salons, gyms, and furnishing shops.

“Most of the violations were found in houses of blocks G and F in Sushant Lok. We had warned owners and also issued notices to them to restore the properties but they did not respond positively and did not give a satisfactory reply,” he said.

Under the rules of Haryana Urban Development Act 1975, commercial activities cannot be carried out in residential houses barring few non-nuisance activities such as doctor’s clinic, which can be run with due permission from DTCP.

DTCP officials said several commercial units, which were sealed could have saved themselves by taking permission from the department, and making small changes in their offices so that they came under the purview of non-nuisance activities.

“Despite repeated appeals, the owners are not coming forward to get the units regularised. We will not allow commercial activities in residential colonies as that causes a lot of trouble to other residents. It also puts pressure on civic infrastructure,” said Yadav.

DTCP officials said in the past three months, they have sealed 200 business units operating illegally from residential houses across the city. The department has issued over 700 notices, and this has ensured that around 150 such units have stopped commercial activities voluntarily while more than 100 applicants have come forward to obtain permission as a no-nuisance activity.