Gurugram: Now, buyers of plots in illegal colonies to face action too

In a change of strategy, the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) has now decided to take action against individuals who buy plots in illegal colonies.

In a change of strategy, the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) has now decided to take action against individuals who buy plots in illegal colonies. Earlier, the department would initiate action only against property dealers and developers of such properties. The move comes in the wake of the mushrooming of a large number of illegal colonies on the outskirts of the city, where plot buyers have continued to invest even though these projects are being developed in violation of government norms, officials said.

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To ensure that the department’s message against the illegal development of colonies reaches gullible buyers, the department has also initiated the process of installing warning boards in illegal colonies in Bhondsi, Farrukhnagar, Sultanpur, and other areas across the city. As per a DTCP estimate, there are around 100 small and large illegal colonies that are coming up in the district and they want to stop these developments.

DTCP officials said that they have been issuing notices to developers under Section 7 (1) (1) of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act 1975, but now they will start distributing these notices under Section 7(1)(2) of the same Act to ensure buyers are also held accountable. “Till now, the action was taken only against developers, but now we have decided to take action against individual buyers and property dealers who are luring them to buy agricultural land to make houses. These illegal colonies put a lot of pressure on the infrastructure of the city and create chaos, as they remain out of the purview of development and housing laws,” RS Bhath, DTP, planning, who also has been given the additional charge of enforcement, said.

On Monday afternoon, a team of DTCP officials visited several illegal colonies in Bhondsi, Dhumaspur, Sehjawas and Behalpa villages and installed warning boards at these locations. “We have installed boards warning buyers. Whosoever was present there was clearly told that large-scale demolitions would be carried out in these colonies. Police cases would also be registered against those erecting buildings (buyers) on such plots under the Urban Areas Act,” Bhath said.

When asked what action would be taken against two colonies that have been flagged by the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) through a letter, DTCP officials said that a concerted action against all such colonies is being planned and would be initiated by next week.

The letter sent by the DHBVN had stated that a large illegal colony was coming up in Bhondsi on jail road and over 100 houses have come up illegally in the colony and the homebuyers were seeking power connections. The power utility stated that as per electricity rules, an electricity connection can be applied for online and they have to accord permission within one month. As such, the authority sought action against such colonies at the earliest or they would be constrained to issue power connections despite these houses being in an unlicensed colony, the letter said. It also mentioned another such colony coming up on Damdama Road and sought rapid action against such unauthorised colonies. “We will take action against illegal houses at the earliest,” Bhath said.