HSVP to take over ‘disputed’ land in Gurugram Sec 12A

In line with the direction received from the urban estates department in Chandigarh, the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) will take possession of a disputed piece of land in Sector 12A on Thursday.

The land has been in dispute, ever since a private developer took licence for developing a group housing society on the 3.75-acre plot, claiming its ownership in 2017.

The matter was raised by land owners of Gurugram village, who alleged that the said piece of land was already acquired by the HSVP and, as such, the licence had been obtained by the developer fraudulently.

In the first week of January, the Congress had demanded a probe into the illegal release of this 3.75-acre plot of land by the government. Prior to that Bharatiya Janata Party workers had also raised questions on the release of this plot of land by the HSVP.

The matter thereafter reached the office of the chief minister, Haryana, which directed the urban estates department to probe the matter. During the inquiry, the authorities found discrepancies in the title of the land. Finally in March 2019, the department of town and country planning cancelled the licence.

The HSVP officials said that they would take possession of the land by removing encroachments on it and erect a boundary wall. The process will start from Thursday.

A meeting in this regard was chaired by Chander Shekhar Khare on Tuesday, in which it was decided to get a duty magistrate appointed for taking over the possession and to seek help from the police.

“The land in question has been acquired by the HSVP and as per the directions, we will take its possession on Thursday,” said Khare. A team of officials from HSVP’s land and acquisition wing of department of town and country planning would be constituted to ensure that the process is carried out smoothly, he added.

As per the details shared by HSVP officials, the land in question was acquired by the authorities way back in November 1981. The HSVP had planned to develop 50 residential plots for home buyers and the compensation to the land owners was also paid.

However, in 2016, the owners of this land returned the compensation amount, along with interest. Later, a licence for a group housing colony was given to the developer, who also launched a housing project on the land. However, this matter was brought into the notice of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar by activists based in Gurugram, who directed the urban estate department to enquire into the matter, said officials.

Officials said the inquiry found discrepancies in the ownership of land and on basis of that the licence was cancelled in March 2019.

In a letter written to the administrator last month, the deputy director, urban estates, Panchkula, stated, “Director, Town and country Planning, has cancelled the license no 86 of 2017 granted for setting up of residential group housing colony on the land measuring 3.75 acres falling in sector 12-A, Gurugram Manesar urban complex. It is requested to send the compliance report regarding taking possession of the subject land[sic].”