DTCP carries out demolition drive against illegal colony in Bilaspur

The enforcement team of the department of town and country planning (DTCP), on Thursday, demolished two colonies coming up on a piece of agricultural land in Bilaspur

The enforcement team of the department of town and country planning (DTCP), on Thursday, demolished two colonies coming up on a piece of agricultural land in Bilaspur in the outskirts of the city. This drive was part of the larger campaign against illegal colonies in the city. DTCP officials said that a road network had been laid and a number of plinths had come up in an area of eight acres in Bilaspur without any licence or permission from the government.

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The enforcement team demolished a total of 25 plinths, two boundary walls, a 500-metre road network, five under-construction structures and a bore-well. “The developers of the illegal colony in Bilaspur were trying to take advantage of the fact that the place is quite far from the city. As such, their development activity would escape the scanner. We are conducting surveys across the city, and action will be taken against everyone,” said RS Bhath, district town planner.

Earlier on Wednesday, the enforcement department demolished two colonies in Sultanpur and Mubarikpur, where 15 plinths, one boundary wall, 1.5-km road network were demolished in 14 acres of land. The plots in these properties were being sold to gullible buyers at anywhere between ₹5,000 to ₹15,000 per square yard, said DTCP officials.

Bhath said that apart from demolishing the colonies, DTCP officials are also now identifying colonisers and property dealers, who are engaged in such illegal activities so that cases can be registered against such violations. “On the one hand, we are going to take penal action. On the other hand, the department is going to ensure that registries of small plots are not carried out,” he said.

In the last one-and-a-half month, the department said that it has managed to clear around 500 acres of land on which illegal colonies were being developed. The directions to take action against the development of illegal colonies were given by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar after the matter was brought to his notice.