SC stays construction in city's 1,797 unauthorised colonies

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stopped all construction in 1,797 unauthorised colonies of Delhi and asked the central government to set up a special task force for removing encroachments from public land and roads in the city. Any construction in unauthorised colonies that do not adhere to building by-laws must stop immediately, the court said. "Unauthorised colonies can't be placed in a better position than authorised colonies," it said.

The court refused to vacate its stay on the proposed amendments to the city's 'masterplan', rejecting the Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) appeal. "You first prove your bonafide. Take action and then we will see," the bench said. The court observed that buildings in over 1,700 unauthorised colonies should be first made to adhere to municipal laws, agreeing with senior advocate Ranjit Kumar that such structures were a strain on civic amenities. Kumar is assisting the court in appeals regarding unauthorised constructions being sealed in Delhi. The court also asked DDA, the national capital's urban planner, to give details of 27.02 acre of land reclaimed since April 1 this year.

The sealing drive is being carried out by an SC-appointed monitoring committee against business establishments using residential properties for commercial purposes. It is being implemented by the three BJP-led Municipal Corporations of Delhi. Earlier, on April 2, 2018, expressing anguish over the strikes and 'dharnas' against the sealing drive in the national capital, the SC had said that there was a 'complete breakdown' of law and order

in Delhi.

The top court had come down heavily on the Centre and other authorities for their 'failure' to do their job. It said that due to this, such a situation has arisen and termed it a "very serious issue" concerning governance. A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta had asked questions to the Centre over the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006 and subsequent legislation which protects unauthorised construction from being sealed.

"You cannot go on destroying Delhi. There has to be some reason," the bench had told Additional Solicitor General (ASG) ANS Nadkrani, appearing for the Centre. At the same time, the top court had taken exception to the fact that no official data and figures were available on record regarding the number of such people residing in such colonies and unauthorised structures. It had also sought to know what action has been taken on unauthorised constructions which were not protected under

the law.