“There is a need to resolve the issue of overlapping jurisdiction by issuing clear instructions.”
New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said that despite multiplicity of authorities and an elaborate system of checks and balances, illegal construction is taking place in the heart of the national capital on a scale unheard of before.
The High Court said it appears there is no respect for law among builders and directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to carry out structural reforms and formulate new strategies to deal with the menace. . Encroachment as well as illegal and unauthorized construction.
“This Court is of the view that there is a need for structural reforms in the functioning of the respondents (authorities) to deal with illegal and unauthorized constructions of such a large size. The issue of overlapping jurisdiction needs to be resolved by issuing clear and concrete practice directions. ” A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan Singh and Justice Manmeet PS Arora said.
The High Court said that today, the MCD continues to use tape and string to seal a building and is generally making partial holes in the roofs in the name of demolition, which is why the sealing and The demolition action is not having any deterrent effect.
It said the executive appears to be satisfied with the status quo and is unwilling to reform the system using easily accessible technologies like drones, satellite images and digital maps that can easily detect large-scale encroachments and illegal construction. will find out.
The court passed the order while transferring a case registered by Delhi Police in connection with the unauthorized construction of a guest house near the centrally protected Nizamuddin Ki Baoli and Barakhamba Tomb to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The bench was hearing a PIL filed by NGO Jamia Arabia Nizamia Welfare Education Society which claimed that “illegal and unauthorized construction” was carried out at Khasra No. 556 Ziyarat Guest House near Baoli Gate, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah near Police Booth was going.
The court said neither the MCD nor the DDA took action against the unauthorized construction that took place on the upper floor of the already sealed guest house, which was built illegally on DDA land near the monuments. .
It said the three additional floors were constructed without obtaining any clearance or permission from the MCD or any other agency.
The MCD counsel said that even the ground, first and second floors are illegal as the land belongs to DDA and has been encroached upon. He said that DDA is the primary agency which should have taken steps to protect its property.
The DDA counsel said it is the primary responsibility of the MCD to regulate and enforce building bye-laws in the area and take necessary action against unauthorized construction.
The lawyers for MCD and DDA informed the court that the property has now been completely demolished.
The court said that the nature of construction changed from unauthorized and illegal to encroachment, and added that “Encroachment is the worst form of civil wrong as it is tantamount to committing dacoity as the land owning agency loses its land in the process and the public at large but loses a valuable asset”.
It said that if there was a dispute over the ownership of the land, it was not understood how the property changed, how its nature changed and how de novo construction took place.
“The property in question is at a short distance from the local police booth. It is not clear from the documents on record how the property, which ranged from a graveyard to a one-room warehouse, came to be a two-storey building and then a five-storey building. 1-storey building. No permission or clearance from any statutory authority has been placed on record,” the bench said.
“Despite multiplicity of authorities and an elaborate system of checks and balances, illegal construction is taking place in the city on a scale that was never heard of before and that too in the heart of Delhi. It seems that there is lack of understanding of the law among the people. There is no respect towards builders,” it said.
The court said administrative responsibility should be fixed and the role of the parties involved in the illegal construction of the guest house should be investigated. It directed the MCD Commissioner and DDA Vice Chairman to ensure that an investigation is conducted and responsibility of its officials is fixed.
The court expressed displeasure that the five-storey building was constructed despite the matter being brought to the notice of various authorities.
It asked, “How is it that all authorities failed to take action against an illegal building as big as a five-storey building?” The Delhi Waqf Board filed an interlocutory application in the case and relied on various documents to argue that the land belonged to it. However, DDA had opposed this application.
The petitioner, represented by advocate Rakesh Lakra, has argued that the DDA, MCD, Delhi Police and the Archaeological Survey of India had failed to stop construction at the guest house, which was within 100 meters of two centrally protected monuments.
Lakra said a large number of illegal and unauthorized guest houses have been allowed to operate by the authorities in the area and pose a threat to the environment, heritage and cultural significance of the area. PTI SKV Division Division
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
