Gurugram: Eateries, nurseries encroaching green belt near Dronacharya metro station removed

GURUGRAM: About six to seven eateries, four concrete structures and multiple nurseries were razed by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) in a four-hour-long drive to clear encroachments from around 1.5-kilometre stretch of green belt near Guru Dronacharya metro station on Saturday.
Officials said the GMDA has started fencing the green belt to prevent it from being overrun by squatters again.
“These structures have been encroaching upon the green belt for around 10 years. The area was recently handed over to the GMDA. Previously, it was under the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), which had tried to clear the encroachments multiple times but had little success. On the directions of the GMDA CEO Sudhir Rajpal, we have today (Saturday) succeeded in clearing the squatters,” a senior GMDA official said, adding though heavy police force was deployed “the entire drive was completed peacefully”.
The green belt, the official said, is located on a road that sees traffic movement from Gurgaon towards Delhi.
“Barring a small, temporary temple set up by some people in the area all encroachments have been cleared. The people requested us to give them some time to remove their idol from the premises. We have granted them time after taking written assurance,” the official added.
GMDA officials told TOI that they have initiated fencing work around the green belt and it was likely to take around two weeks to complete the work. “Clearing encroachments from this particular patch of the green belt had been pending for a very long time. We will continue to take similar action in green belts across the city to ensure there are no violations,” the official said.