Over 16,000 illegal structures in Meerut to be sealed, demolished after SC order

The Supreme Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to seal 16,726 illegal structures in Meerut and begin demolition of unauthorised buildings, taking serious note of illegal construction and the conversion of residential properties for commercial use.

The court said prompt action was necessary and warned that any loss of innocent lives in the event of an accident would lead to personal liability for the officer concerned.

A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan also set up a judicial commission headed by former Supreme Court judge, Sudhanshu Dhulia, to conduct a detailed enquiry in Uldepur, on the outskirts of Meerut, where illegal residential colonies have come up.

The commission will examine the nature of the land, why the Meerut Development Authority remained inactive for over five years, and whether the colonies were developed in collusion with its officials.

After going through a status report filed by P Guruprasad, Chairman of Uttar Pradesh Awas Evam Vikas Parishad, the bench said, "We are shocked and disturbed to learn, reading the status report, that hundreds of illegal residential colonies have come up at Uldepur."

The court noted that the department had carried out an inspection and survey in different parts of Meerut and divided the town into four zones: Zone-A, Zone-B, Zone-C and Zone-D.

In its September 21 order, the bench said that in Zone-A, 16 teams deputed for inspection and survey had identified 16,726 structures as "absolutely illegal/unauthorised."

Of these, 12,907 were residential, 874 were residential-cum-non-residential, and 2,945 were non-residential constructions. The court was hearing a contempt petition over non-compliance with its earlier directions on illegal constructions.

The bench directed the authorities to act against all 16,726 illegal structures in Zone-A at the earliest. It said, "The first step in the process is to ask the occupants to vacate the premises and to seal all these premises, i.e., the 16,726 illegal structures. We direct accordingly."

It added that some of the structures could be in a dilapidated condition and might collapse, causing casualties, and said it did not want that to happen "at any cost". The court ordered prompt action in all four zones.

The court said that if any incident led to the loss of innocent lives, the responsible government officer would be held personally liable.

It also noted that the report did not deal with the situation in Zone-B, Zone-C and Zone-D, and said the court therefore had no information on the number of illegal structures in those areas.

It directed the authority concerned to place a comprehensive report on these three zones on the next date of hearing.

At the same time, the bench made it clear that action in Zone-A should not wait. It said, "However, since illegal construction in Zone-A has been identified, appropriate action shall now be taken for demolition of the same."

Calling the picture in the report "extremely grim and serious", the court added that the authorities needed to "work day and night" to demolish the unauthorised constructions.

It described the facts and figures in the report as alarming and said the extent of illegal construction in the town and its outskirts was now evident from the authority's own report.

The demolition process is to continue, with a further status report to be filed before the next hearing.

On Uldepur, the bench said the report showed that notices had been issued to the owners of the 44 properties that were sealed. It noted that 20 of these 44 properties had already been demolished and that unauthorised commercial use had been stopped.

According to the report, 38 of the 44 properties had sanctioned building plans, but the owners had made unauthorised additions and were using them for commercial purposes.

The remaining six properties had been sold as plots, where unauthorised residential and commercial construction was carried out without approval of plans or maps.

The court directed the authorities to demolish the remaining 24 of the 44 sealed properties at the earliest. It also said the judicial commission led by Justice Dhulia would investigate whether the illegal residential colonies were allowed to come up in collusion with officials of the Meerut Development Authority and would identify those responsible.

The matter has been listed for hearing in December, when the court will consider an extensive status report on the action taken under its directions.- Ends(With PTI inputs)