Panchshila Park society fights land-grab attempt

The Panchshila Park group housing society is fighting to keep its land away from the clutches of the land mafia.

The Panchshila Park group housing society is fighting to keep its land away from the clutches of the land mafia.The prime plot, allotted to the society by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), has several claimants.

Former Delhi chief secretary Omesh Saigal, who is also president of the housing society, has urged the chief minister, lieutenant governor and the commissioner of police to prevent the land mafia from grabbing the plot, allotted to the housing society in 1975 for a school.

A school was built on a portion of the plot of about three acres in 1982. A car showroom owner is illegally using 0.65 acre of the plot for parking.

The vacant plot that is possessed by the society has been claimed by a couple of parties.

“A couple of civil suits were filed against us by vested interests but they were dismissed and it was established that the land belonged to us. There’s another piece of land adjoining this plot, also owned by the housing society, which is illegally being used for parking. We have complained to the police but nothing has been done,” said Saigal, a retired IAS officer.

Before the onset of the monsoon, the society wanted to convert the land into a green area. “The work was started but was later stopped as we got threats from some miscreants. A complaint was registered with the Malviya Nagar police station but still the police didn’t allow us to start the work. Now the same miscreants have uprooted those plants,” Saigal added.

However, the police said they had received a complaint. “There are several claimants of this land and it is in the process of being sealed,” said an officer.