In a first, the department of town and country planning (DTCP) has decided to recover the cost of demolition of illegal colonies from the land owners and builders. The move, officials said, will not only check the mushrooming of illegal colonies in Gurugram but also help reduce the financial burden on the department.
In the past one year, the enforcement wing of DTCP carried out around 200 demolition drives and razed more than 125 illegal colonies. Of these, some 60 illegal colonies were razed twice as the builders restarted the construction after demolition.
District town planner (enforcement) RS Batth said the department spent around Rs 40 lakh on demolition drives carried out in the past one year. “Now we have prepared an estimate of the total expenses incurred during the demolition drives, including hiring of earthmovers and other resources. The amount will be recovered from around 450 people, who are either land owners or builders of these illegal colonies,” he said.
Batth said the department will soon serve recovery notices to these people. “In case, the erring land owners are unable to clear the recovery dues, the department may attach their properties,” he said.
An official, part of the enforcement squad, said the cost of demolition drive ranges from Rs 50,000 to Rs 3 lakh, depending on the area and the equipment used. “The cost of hiring a JCB machine is between Rs 15,000 and Rs 2000, whereas other heavy machines cost Rs 2.5 lakh for a few hours,” he said.
Assistant town planner Ashish Sharma said each demolition drive involves two to three earthmovers, and the entire drive is videographed for which a videographer is also hired. “As per a rough estimate, a regular drive costs around Rs 50,000,” he said.