Faridabad, April 1: In compliance with the Supreme Court order, the district administration carried out a demolition drive at Kant Enclave in Surajkund and razed 13 houses today.
Declaring the colony “illegal”, the apex court on September 11, 2018, had directed the Haryana Government to remove all constructions made in violation of the PLPA Act.
Kant Enclave is a forest or is forestland and absolutely no construction activity could be permitted, the court had ruled, while permitting the state government to deposit Rs 16.5 crore in its registry for disbursing Rs 50 lakh each to 33 owners of illegal constructions in the Aravalli hills.
A spokesperson said seven of the 20 constructions, in respect of which final notices were served last month, had been spared as the court had allowed time up to July 31 to those who had given an undertaking that they would remove the illegal structures or vacate the premises.
Earlier, the owners of 24 constructions had submitted such undertakings by the end of January.
Bordering Delhi, the colony is spread over 424 acres. The plot sizes range between 166 and 1,000 square yards. It was carved out by R Kant and Company around 1990.
Five teams of officials carried out the demolition under the supervision of the five duty magistrates. Six Poclain machines and four JCBs were deployed for the job.
“While 300 cops were deployed to maintain law and order, there was hardly any resistance as residents had vacated the premises a day before,” said Sanjiv Maan, Senior Town Planner.
