SC issues slew of landmark directives to curb illegal constructions

New Delhi: In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said unauthorised constructions cannot be legitimised merely due to administrative delays, passage of time, or monetary investments and issued a slew of directions to curb illegal constructions. A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said even the post-construction violations must trigger swift corrective action, including demolition of the illegal part and penalties for erring officials.

The bench also upheld the demolition of unauthorised commercial constructions in a residential plot in Meerut, emphasising the need for strict adherence to urban planning laws and accountability of officials. The court issued a slew of comprehensive directions in larger public interest to streamline urban development and enforcement. “We are of the opinion that construction(s) put up in violation of or deviation from the building plan approved by the local authority and the constructions which are audaciously put up without any building planning approval, cannot be encouraged. Each and every construction must be made scrupulously following and strictly adhering to the rules,” it said.

In the event of any violation being brought to the notice of the courts, the bench said, it would be “curtailed with iron hands” as any leniency would amount to showing “misplaced sympathy”.

“Delay in directing rectification of illegalities, administrative failure, regulatory inefficiency, cost of construction and investment, negligence and laxity on the part of the authorities concerned in performing their obligation(s) under the Act, cannot be used as a shield to defend action taken against the illegal/unauthorised constructions,” it said. The regularisation schemes must be brought out only in exceptional circumstances and as a one-time measure for residential houses after a detailed survey, it said.

“Unauthorised constructions, apart from posing a threat to the life of the occupants and the citizens living nearby, also have an effect on resources like electricity, groundwater and access to roads, which are primarily designed to be made available in orderly development and authorised activities,” it said.