East Delhi fights against illegal constructions

In a bid to discourage people from indulging into illegal construction, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation has cracked the whip on over 2,800 unauthorised buildings from January 2013 to March 2014.

During the same period, the civic agency sanctioned building plans for nearly 3,000 properties.

According to the action taken report, the east civic body initiated demolition drive against 2,821 illegal properties under its limits — Shahdara (North) and Shahdara (South) Zones.

The maximum number of unauthorised constructions, 1722, were reported from Shahdara (South) Zone, while the Shahdara (North) Zone had 1,099 illegal buildings.

The action taken report said 1,148 buildings were partly demolished from January 2013 to March 2014, while only 34 illegal constructions were completely demolished.

Some 176 illegal properties were sealed during this period.

“Once the buildings are booked, they will be demolished for sure. The process takes time,” said a senior official of East Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The east civic agency has sanctioned building plan for 2,989 properties. “Now people can apply online to get their building plan sanctioned. And they can get it done within a month,” said the official in his statement.

“Still they indulge in illegal construction which not only makes them a defaulter but also affects the corporation’s revenue,” he added.

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation has generated a total revenue of over Rs 126 crore from January 2013 to March 2014, according to action taken report.

The Shahdara (South) Zone contributed over Rs 80 crore, while the  Shahdara (North) Zone added over Rs 36 crore to the kitty.

The Building Headquarter Zone generated over Rs 69 crore.

Illegal structures

“If people will stop constructing illegal structures and abide by the rules it will help the corporation to generate more revenue. And the money generated will in turn be used to provide better facilities to the people of east Delhi,” said the official.

An encroachment removal drive was also taken by the East Corporation, Public Works Department and Delhi Police at Wazirabad village to ease the traffic movement in the area.

During the action, six cars, two three-wheelers, one condemned car were seized, said the civic agency in a statement.

“Ten illegal constructions were also dismantled and removed from the service road. The action was taken under the supervision of assistant commissioner of Shahdara (North) Zone,” it added.