Chandigarh team to verify Gurgaon DTP sealing drive in malls

On Sunday, a team of mall owners visited the DTP office in Chandigarh and claimed the sealing carried out on Saturday was illegal and the notice issued in June was baseless.

A day after the district town planning (DTP) enforcement Gurgaon sealed ‘illegal’ stores operating in the basement of three malls on Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, a DTP team from Chandigarh will check on Monday if the actions were in accordance with rules and notifications issued in June.

On Saturday, during a five-hour drive in the presence of police, the enforcement team of Gurgaon had sealed stores ‘illegally’ operating in the basement of Sahara Mall, MGF Mega City and MGF Metropolis. (Sanjeev Verma/HT FILE PHOTO)

On Sunday, a team of mall owners visited the DTP office in Chandigarh and claimed the sealing carried out on Saturday was illegal and the notice issued in June was baseless.

As per rules, basements of malls can be mainly used for parking and only store rooms or small offices can be operated.

DTP officials from Gurgaon had claimed public utility spaces had been encroached and instead commercial centres had been erected.

“A team from Chandigarh is expected tomorrow (Monday) for a routine exercise,” an official with the DTP team of Gurgaon said.

On Saturday, during a five-hour drive in the presence of police, the enforcement team of Gurgaon had sealed stores ‘illegally’ operating in the basement of Sahara Mall, MGF Mega City and MGF Metropolis.

The DTP were also to carry out operations at Vipul Agora, DLF Grand, JMD Arcade and DT City Centre, but management officials of these malls submitted affidavits, saying they would remove the stores on their own.

In June, DTP had issued notice to 24 malls to remove illegal encroachments.

Incidentally, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has made parking free at the basement of 26 malls and commercial centres at MG Road, Sohna Road and Golf Course Road. In a tie-up with mall owners, the MCG agreed to waive off property tax if the basement parking was offered free to people.