Officials of the Hubballi Dharwad Urban Development Authority (HDUDA) carried out a demolition drive under police cover in an unauthorised residential layout that had come up on Kalghatgi Road on the outskirts of Dharwad on Friday.
Using earthmovers, with the help of workers, the authorities removed illegal structures and boundary stones installed in a 13-acre unauthorised layout that had come up at Rajeev Gandhi Nagar on Kalghatgi Road near Someshwar Temple on the outskirts of Dharwad.
The demolition drive was carried out based on information about the layout that it was developed without any requisite permissions from the competent authorities.
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Chairman of HDUDA Nagesh Kalburgi told presspersons that the authority had served notice to land owners thrice and as there was no response from them, the drive was carried out. During the drive, drains, temporary roads and electricity poles were razed.
Mr. Kalburgi said that because of the COVID-19-induced lockdown, HDUDA had temporarily suspended the drive against unauthorised layouts. And, now with the lockdown restrictions being relaxed, it had resumed the drive.
He said that gullible people hoping to construct their own houses were being duped by such developers. He said that the authorities had warned the land owners against developing the illegal layout and they had failed to respond to notice. The objective of the drive is to send a strong message to those cheating people promising sites that are developed without any permissions.
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“I will also appeal to the people to think twice before investing in such unauthorised layouts. They should get documents checked thoroughly by consulting legal experts before purchasing any residential plots,” he said.