Illegal plot carving a threat to Faridabad master plan : The Tribune India

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Illegal plot carving a threat to Faridabad master plan

The work on the Development Plan — 2031 (Master Plan) to establish new sectors in Faridabad has already begun but the district administration is worried over illegal carving of plots going on with impunity in the district.

Illegal plot carving a threat to Faridabad master plan

The Department of Town and Country Planning (Enforcement) removes an illegal structure in Faridabad.



Bijendra Ahlawat  

The work on the Development Plan — 2031 (Master Plan) to establish new sectors in Faridabad has already begun but the district administration is worried over illegal carving of plots going on with impunity in the district. Though the whole district has been marked as a ‘controlled area’ where carving out plots or construction is not allowed, the land mafia threatens to derail even the Master Plan, which envisages the development of around 67 new sectors by 2031.

The radius of urbanisation will cover 55 of the total 146 villages in the district, according to the new development plan. Though all villages have already been included in the ‘controlled area’ regulation, plots are still being carved out illegally, making the work of the District Town and Country Planning Department more difficult. “We have to carry out six to eight demolition drives every month to check illegal carving of plots,” says Naresh Kumar, District Town and Country Planner (Enforcement).

As many as 149 demolition drives have been carried out in the past three years and 156 FIRs have been registered, he says. Demolition drives have been carried out in Bhopani, Palwali, Sikrona, Newada-Tigaon, Neemka, Nachauli, Sarurpur, Seekri and Qureshipur villages in the recent past. The District Town and Country Planning Department carried out eight demolition drives in July this year and razed more than 50 under-construction structures such as boundary walls, DPC (damp-proof course) single or two-room buildings and roads. As many as 15 industrial sheds constructed illegally in a village were also demolished recently, he adds.  

Naresh says that while the jurisdiction of the DTP (Enforcement) is out of the municipal limits in Faridabad city, it is authorised to take action in cases of illegal subdivision of residential and commercial plots. He, however, admits that the conviction rate in such cases even when FIRs have been registered has been low; only four accused have been sentenced by courts for the violation of rules since 2017.  

He says an FIR is registered after a person again does construction work on the plot or area where earlier concrete structures were razed.   

Naresh says that regular checking is done in suspected areas as the land mafia is still active in the district due to a huge demand of residential plots, mainly from unsuspecting migrant population. The issue had come up in the meeting of the district administration recently and the Deputy Commissioner had directed the sub-divisional revenue officials to not register plots without a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the District Town and Country Planning Department. 

Sanjiv Maan, District Town and Country Planner, says that 67 new sectors (92 to 158) spread on 34,368 hectares are proposed to be developed under the new development plan. It will help in creating the required infrastructure for a population of 39.55 lakh. The current population of Faridabad city is 18 lakh.  

LN Parashar, a senior lawyer, says that due to rampant corruption the directive of the authorities not to register plots in unauthorised colonies is being violated continuously.

Announced demolition drive, MC chief shifted

The mafia under the patronage of politicians is active in Faridabad city and the district administration and the police are helpless. A former Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation was transferred in November last year as soon as he announced a drive to demolish 140 farmhouses in the Surajkund area. Illegal colonisation and encroachments on public land are likely to derail the Master Plan. — Varun Sheokand, social activist 

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