The Supreme Court on Tuesday prohibited any further construction not in conformity with the building by-laws in 1,797 unauthorised colonies in Delhi and questioned the authorities’ intent in regularising such colonies having illegal constructions.
The apex court, while observing that there cannot be any area in Delhi where there was no “rule of law”, directed the Centre to immediately set up a special task force (STF) to oversee enforcement of laws regarding unauthorised constructions, and asked it to remove encroachments from public roads, public streets and the areas meant for pedestrians.
A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta, while refusing to vacate the stay at this stage on the proposed amendments in the Delhi Master Plan-2021, also sought details and figures on the status of groundwater level in the Capital since 2000 onwards.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, assisting the court as amicus curiae, said the building by-laws do not apply to constructions in unauthorised constructions, which has led to haphazard constructions in Delhi and nothing has been done despite apex court’s 2007 judgement on this issue.
‘Lawlessness in colonies’
“Any construction going on today in unauthorised colonies that are not in conformity with the building by-laws should be stopped. They cannot become lawless. The situation today is that there is lawlessness in these colonies,” Mr. Kumar told the Bench.
Mr. Kumar said such constructions in unauthorised colonies put a strain on civic amenities like roads, sewage and electricity supply and by virtue of extension of legislations protecting such buildings from being sealed, rampant illegal constructions were going on.
“At least, even if they want to regularise these unauthorised colonies, there should be some sanctity,” he added.
“By regularising them [unauthorised colonies], you will say that whatever illegal activities they have done, will be regularised,” the Bench observed, adding: “You cannot have an area where there is no rule of law. Here, there are over 1,700 colonies“.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Maninder Singh, representing the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), said building by-laws would be implemented in such colonies before they are regularised.
