The municipal corporation (MC) on Friday razed dozens of illegal structures along the Buddha Nullah at Kundanpuri, New Kundanpuri, Upkar Nagar and adjoining areas, amid resistance from their occupants.
Left without shelter, hundreds of labourers and their family members, who had been living in these buildings for decades, claimed the demolition took place without any notice. They were at work, while the MC razed the structures, damaging their household articles and belongings, they complained.
However, assistant town planner (ATP) MS Bedi said, “Notices were served to the encroachers and illegal properties were also marked with red paint over the past few days. The drive commenced after conducting demarcation process and will continue in the coming days.”
Suresh, a resident, said, “We were not even aware that these labour quarters had been established on encroached land. We have been living here for over a decade. There were over 50 quarters in the building in which we were residing and the owner used to collect ₹1,600-2,000 as rent against each quarter.”
Another labourer, Prince said, “We were not aware of the drive. I was at work when someone told me about it. We have been paying rent to the building owner, who claims he was not aware of it either. MC should have given us some time to find another accommodation.”
As per MC officials, over 70 encroachments were razed during the drive on Friday after issuing notices.
{{/usCountry}}As per MC officials, over 70 encroachments were razed during the drive on Friday after issuing notices.
{{/usCountry}}The action came to pave way for a road at the site and beautification of the area, along with installation of chain-linked fences around the nullah to restrict residents from dumping waste. The three-metre-high and two-metre-wide fence is being installed under the Smart City Mission at a cost of ₹13.39 crore.
Last year, MC had identified around 960 encroachments along the nullah that had reduced its width, resulting in overflow of wastewater during monsoon. The demarcation process was carried out by teams of different departments, including MC, revenue and drainage.
‘We have registries of plots, pay taxes’
Some of the property owners said they have registries of their properties and had also been paying taxes to MC for years. “MC has also issued unique identification number for some of the properties and electricity metres have been installed by PSPCL,” they added.
One such property owner, Charanjit Singh said, “I own a 200 square yards plot since the 1990s and have even shown the registry of the plot to MC. I have also won a case regarding ownership of the land in court. Yet, the MC officials have asked me to demolish the house by myself or they will. A 400 square yards property was divided into two parts and I purchased 200 yards out of it. Now, MC is claiming that the other portion is legal, but mine is not as per revenue records.”
Another building owner, Harinder Singh said his 50 square yards building was razed even when he had registry of the plot. He added that he will move court against MC.