The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed a Special Task Force (STF), comprising Commissioners of the municipal corporations here, to protect and preserve about 27,74,898 square metre of land that has been recovered from unauthorised encroachment in Delhi.
A Bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur remarked that the total area cleared of encroachment by the STF “confirms the severe problems being faced by Delhi due to unauthorised construction and encroachments, and the magnitude of the problem”.
The STF, constituted following the Supreme Court’s order to oversee enforcement of laws on illegal construction and monitoring removal of encroachments here, has received a huge number of complaints — exceeding 7,000. So far, it has dealt with about 3,400 complaints.
The Bench, also comprising of Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Hemant Gupta, noted that the STF receiving more than 7,000 complaints indicated the “magnitude of the problem” of encroachments and unauthorised construction in Delhi.
“We expect the STF to expeditiously deal with all these complaints and take appropriate action wherever necessary. This may be done in a time-bound manner,” the Bench said.
The STF, in its report, has stated that the total area cleared from encroachment by it under permanent structures is as high as 10,71,838 sq m. The area under temporary structures that has been cleared from encroachment is 16,99,858 sq m. In addition, about 3,202 sq m of roads, streets and footpaths have been cleared on both sides.
“In view of the huge amount of land that has been retrieved by the municipal corporations under the directions of the STF, it is necessary to preserve and protect the land so that there is no encroachment upon it once again,” the Bench said.
Tarun Kapoor, the vice-chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority and the chairperson of the STF, was present in court on Wednesday. The top court has listed the case for further hearing in first week of February.
