The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) has recently identified “over 600 illegally constructed structures in the city” that have come up on their land and the body is preparing to take action against them.
In a meeting of senior agency officials with state minister Premchand Aggarwal on Friday, instructions were given to the staff to speed up steps against illegal construction. The minister reportedly said that action will be taken against those officers who are found to have failed to discharge their duties.
“It is imperative to prevent these construction activities from taking place. It is important to be proactive,” said Sanjeevan Soontha, media spokesperson, MDDA.
Officials further said that based on data regarding the illegal construction, sealing or demolition is being initiated. The defaulters are sent a notice, fined and then action is taken on the property, said officials. They have also been instructed to speed up the map passing process for projects.
Meanwhile, opposition party workers on Friday protested outside the MDDA office highlighting “lapses” of the agency. “In areas around Rajpur Road, Hathibarkala, Sai Mandir, Purkul, government land, drains, empty plots are being taken over and highrises, commercial complexes are coming up. It is hard to understand that so much is happening without their knowledge. All these activities need to be checked,” said the agitators in a memorandum to MDDA.
Locals and environmentalists, alike, have been raising the issue of illegal construction and encroachment for a while, pointing out that it causes ecological damage.
On Saturday, MDDA demolition drive took place on multiple plots on the Shimla Bypass Road. Similarly, on Friday, they had demolished a tele-communication tower that had been constructed “without approval” on DL Road.