Shop owners protest demolition drive, district town planner injured

According to officials, while some protesters lay on the road and did not allow the earth moving machines to operate, one tried to hit the district town planner with a tractor, who was injured during the drive.

An enforcement team of the department of town and country planning (DTCP), deployed to carry out a demolition drive in Sector 108 on Thursday afternoon, faced strong resistance from property owners.

RS Bhath, district town planner, who was also the duty magistrate, said they managed to demolish 25 unauthorised shops. (Bachchan Kumar/HT file photo. Representative image)

According to officials, while some protesters lay on the road and did not allow the earth moving machines to operate, one tried to hit the district town planner with a tractor, who was injured during the drive.

The DTCP team had gone to demolish a commercial structure allegedly built illegally in the centre of a private licensed residential colony in Sector 108. A large team of Gurugram police, led by the station house officer of the Rajendra Park station, accompanied the enforcement officials and ensured that the demolition drive was carried out after the protest, which went on for two hours.

RS Bhath, district town planner, who was also the duty magistrate, said they managed to demolish 25 unauthorised shops. “Despite prior notice, the owners refused to budge and continued protesting and trying to stop our work. One of them was riding a tractor and he suddenly charged upon me. Other officials and we saved ourselves with great difficulty. But we carried out the demolition,” he said, adding that he got injured in the melee.

Bhath added that the two-storey structure had 25 shops in the building and a notice was issued to the owners three months ago. “We did not receive any satisfactory reply from the owners and the action was initiated with the help of the police,” he said.

Hari Om Tyagi, sarpanch of Dharmpur village, where the drive was carried out, however, said there was a minor protest at the site but there was no violence. “It is an unfortunate development and owners will have to bear losses. We will try and seek permission for regularisation. The shops belong to local villagers,” he said.

Officials said all owners were allowed to remove their goods from the shops before the structures were razed. One shopkeeper, however, had goods worth Rs 25 lakh stored and he was given some time on the basis of an undertaking. “All unauthorised constructions without permission from the government will be demolished. We did not file an FIR against the protesters after they apologised and admitted that they were at fault, but in the future we will take strict action,” Bhath said.

A team of 20 DTCP officials participated during the demolition drive, which began around 12.30pm and continued till 6 pm, said DTCP officials.