The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) finally secured
possession of its 2-acre land near DLF5 on Tuesday by demolishing nearly
50 unauthorised shops that cropped up on the plot.
The value of the land is estimated to be in a few crores owing to its
location along the 16-lane Golf Course Road near Genpact building in
DLF 5.
With a team of 15 enforcement officials and a large police force, it
took HUDA about six hours to remove the unauthorised shops and hutments.
The enforcement officials faced mild protest from the shop owners, but
police presence kept protests under check.
Residents living in nearby upscale localities had filed several
complaints about these unauthorised shops, claiming they had become a
hub of drug sale and other illegal business. They had also lodged
several anonymous complaints with HUDA and the CM Window, forcing
officials to organise the demolition drive.
“We had asked the encroachers to leave on their own, but they refused
and we were left with no choice but to use police force to drive them
out,” said Vivek Kalia, estate officer (EO) of HUDA. He said that locals
had rented out shops to make commercial gains illegally.
Kalia added, “HUDA takes legal action against encroachers, and there were signboards put up on the plot of land in question.”
The locals had in June-July this year moved Punjab and Haryana High Court against HUDA, claiming ownership of the land.
However, said Pradeep Jakhar, sub-divisional officer (SDO), HUDA won
the case and sent notices to the locals in August to vacate the land.
“Since the locals refused to move, we removed all shops yesterday and
began fencing off the land immediately after the drive. HUDA will
utilise the land, probably for horticultural purposes, till it is
earmarked for something specific by the planning department,” he added.
In the past six months, HUDA has undertaken five demolition drives in
sectors including 29, 31, 32, 43 and 52, and in other areas removed
slums, hutments and shops to secure nearly 5 acres of land.
In Gurgaon, roughly 300 acres of HUDA land is encroached upon by the land mafia.
