Raze illegal structures around IAF ammunition depot, says Gurgaon DC

Gurgaon Reiterating his stand, deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh issued a direction to the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) that all illegal construction within the 900 metre radius of the air force ammunition depot in Sector 14 will be sealed and demolished. He gave the direction during a meeting held at the Mini Secretariat on Friday. The meeting was held in the presence of officials from the Indian Air Force.

Singh had issued a similar directive on November 29, last year.

“A meeting was held today regarding 900 metre restricted zone around the ammunition depot area and the MCG was asked to submit a final report regarding properties in the zone within two weeks. Once this report is brought in the public domain, with a notice inviting claims and objections as per Works of the Defence Act, the compensation will be accordingly determined as per the Act,” the deputy commissioner said.

Although 900 metres around the IAF ammunition depot in Sector 14 was initially deemed a restricted zone, the state government later reduced the radius to 300 metres

According to the district administration, since the matter is pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which has issued a stay in the entire 300 metre restricted area, no new construction can be done in this zone.

Accordingly, the DC has directed the enforcement wing of the MCG to ensure that there is no new construction in the restricted area. He also instructed the civic officials to carry out sealing or demolition of any unauthorised structures found in the restricted area.

Read I Clear encroachments within 300 metres of ammunition depot in Gurgaon: DC

Adequate police force will be provided to municipal officials for this work and a duty magistrate will also be deployed, Singh said.

According to MCG officials, the DC has asked them to compile a detailed data of the types of constructions within the 300 metre radius of the key defence installation.

The data will list details of the buildings found in the 300 metre restricted area under categories such as residential, commercial, industrial, the type of structure and the building material for assessing the compensation that can be given to the property owner.

If the building owner’s livelihood is affected, then that aspect will also be included in the compensation assessment.

The DC said that the MCG can use its property tax and survey records for reference to compile this data and also use the Geographical Information System (GIS) for this purpose.

“Once this data is compiled, the details of the buildings falling within the 300 metre radius and the compensation amount given by the ministry of defence for evacuation will be presented to the high court on behalf of the district administration,” the DC added.

The DC further explained that under Section 8 of the Defence Act, he will seek full details of the people living in the 300-meter area from the MCG. After this, under section 9, the data will be shared with the public for claims and objections, and for ensuring that no person’s name is absent.

The DC clarified that according to the rules, the people whose buildings will be covered within 300 metres will get the compensation amount and that the stay order of the high court will apply to the entire 900 metre restricted area, and hence there will be restrictions on construction activities until the next order.

On April 18, 2017, more than 6,000 families living within the 300 metre of the ammunition depot said they will not vacate if district administration does not give them adequate compensation.

Hardeep Singh, the then deputy commissioner, said that the administration has ordered a survey of dwelling units within 300 metres of the ammunition depot to verify the families and all would depend on the direction of the Punjab and Haryana high court order.