MCG divides restricted area near IAF depot into three pockets

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has divided the restricted area located within the 900-metre radius of Indian Air Force (IAF) ammunition depot in Sector 14 into three pockets in order to maintain greater supervision over the area.

Earlier, complying with the orders of the Punjab and Haryana high court, the district administration had banned new constructions in the area in February 2011 because of its proximity to the IAF depot.

An order regarding the division of the area into three pockets was passed by MCG commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh on Wednesday. Pocket 1 of this area includes colonies near Maruti Udyog, Sector 22 A, Sector 23A, Carterpuri, and Dharam Colony. Areas falling near Old DLF, Sector 14, Sector 18, Sukhrali Enclave, Ashok Vihar 3, Sector 5, Sector 12 A, Sanjay Gram, and Rajiv Nagar are some of the locations that the civic body has kept in pocket 2. Finally, areas near Sheetla Colony, Sheetla Mata Mandir and Amanpura village are some of the areas included in pocket 3.

MCG has also set up checkpoints to monitor the movement of construction vehicles, constituted teams of 15 officials in each zone to identify and demolish illegal constructions, initiate a drone survey to spot illegal buildings, register FIRs against violators, and erected boards cautioning people against purchasing any property or land in the area.

“Each team has officials from the MCG’s engineering and enforcement wings. They all have been provided with necessary equipment, such as earthmovers, cranes, and tractor trolley, for demolishing illegal constructions. We have also set up barricades at multiple entry and exit points in the 900-metre area to look out for any vehicles carrying construction materials,” said Jitender Kumar, joint commissioner, MCG.

Kumar said, so far, the MCG has found around 10 construction vehicles and multiple illegal constructions in the area. The civic body has also registered FIRs against more than 15 violators.

“The rationale behind dividing the 900-metre restricted area into three pockets is to have greater surveillance and check on illegal constructions in the area. All concerned officials have been assigned their respective duties. We are also holding awareness drives in the locality to ensure that people do not purchase any property in the area and are made aware of the reasons behind it,” said Kumar. As per MCG officials, there are around 19,000 properties in the 900-metre restricted area.