Gurgaon civic body razes more illegal structures in three drives

The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) conducted three drives against encroachments in Sector 34, Badshahpur and Vatika Chowk on Friday.

The drive between Sector 34 and Subash Chowk was carried out to recover land and expand the road in the narrow and densely populated area.

The drive near Vatika Chowk was aimed at checking snarls caused by street vendors in an area that already witnesses heavy traffic, especially towards Civil Lines, NH-8, Sohna and Palwal.

Drives at Badshahpur were conducted in a bid to control breaches to the drain after the MCG engineers identified clogged areas and blocked sewer networks through drones and reviewed map contours.

Structures built near the stormwater drain were demolished. Last July, heavy rainfall and breaches to the Badshahpur drain — the main channel to drain rainwater from the city — led to a massive gridlock in the city that lasted for more than 48 hours. The drain had overflowed flooding main roads and NH-8 and submerging Gurgaon.

The MCG has been conducting regular drives since last year after internal surveys showed that approximately 670 acres of government land worth Rs4,000 crore has been encroached upon.

The civic body razed a number of shops, shanties and food stalls in these areas, which were leading to congestion. These establishments were constructed illegally by encroaching on public roads and government land.

MCG commissioner TL Satyaprakash ordered the drive, which was supervised by an enforcement team, district town planning, Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) officials and the police.

“Based on information, earthmovers were sent to these sites and encroachments were removed in the presence of the police. Any kind of encroachment on government land cannot be tolerated and directions have been issued to penalise people who encroach upon these sites again,” Satyaprakash said.

The MCG had also carried out a demolition drive at Iffco Chowk last week. Citizens can report encroachments on MCG’s toll-free number 1800-180-1817.