Government official submits false papers, gets occupation certificate in just 3 days

Gurgaon: A senior officer of department of town and country planning (DTCP) may face penal action for procuring an occupation certificate (OC) for an under-construction building on his land from Huda within three days by submitting a false affidavit and photograph.
The building violates clauses of the Haryana Building Code. The irregularities in granting the OC for the building on plot number 375P in Sector 47 was recently brought to the notice of senior Huda officials. Subsequently, the OC was revoked and a notice was issued to district town planner (DTP) and plot owner Dharambir Khatri.

The other allegation against Khatri is that he is illegally constructing the fifth floor of the building, which has 100% ground coverage in violation of the Haryana Building Code.

TOI has obtained a copy of the Huda notice, which mentions that the plot was inspected on January 30 and it was found that the building was still incomplete. However, the OC had been issued on November 10, and prima facie, it appeared that the OC had been procured by submitting false documents.

"The OC needs to be revoked with immediate effect and appropriate action needs to be initiated against you (plot owner)," the notice read. However, before taking any action, the plot owner has been given the opportunity to state his views in a hearing on February 5.

"The revised Huda policy, according to the new Haryana Building Code, says that site inspection by the junior engineer is not mandatory for issuing the OC which can be approved based on self-declaration. However, in case of violation or false filing of information, as in the current case, strict action will be taken," said estate officer-II Vivek Kalia.

Kalia said such cases, where the OC is obtained by showing photoshopped pictures, had been reported in the past, too. "The department has taken action against the erring officials in such cases. They have been blacklisted," he said.

On October 31, Khatri had applied for the OC with estate office-II of Huda, along with a photograph of the building. On November 6, his file got the green signal from Huda junior engineer, sub-divisional officer (SDO) and account officer. On November 7, the file reached the Huda administrator's office and it was approved on November 10.

Huda administrator Yashpal Yadav said, "The OC has been revoked. Appropriate action will be taken against the people concerned."

Khatri did not want to comment on the issue.