The Supreme Court has asked authorities in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, to take action against 16,726 illegal and unauthorized structures identified in Zone-A. The has directed action against the remaining illegal construction across the city; furthermore, it has constituted a judicial commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge Sudhanshu Dhulia to investigate illegal residential colonies in Uldepur.
A bench of justice, JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan, passed the order and continued the proceedings concerning unauthorized construction and alleged noncompliance with the court orders passed earlier.
“We direct the authorities to proceed at the earliest to take appropriate action against all these 16,726 illegal structures in Zone-A. The first step in the process is to ask the occupants to vacate the premises and to seal all these premises, i.e., the 16,726 illegal structures. We direct accordingly,” the Court said.
Meerat has been divided into four zones for inspection. In zone A there are 1672 illegal structures identified by a team of 16. It includes 12,907 residential, 874 mixed-use, and 2,945 non-residential buildings.
The court in the first step directed the authorities to vacate and seal 16,726 premises and continue demolition of illegal structures in Zone A without delay.
The court also highlighted the risk due to dilapidated buildings and said that officers responsible for delay could face personal liability if any casualties occurred.
“The first step in the process is to ask the occupants to vacate the premises and to seal all these premises, i.e., the 16,726 illegal structures. We direct accordingly. It is possible that some of these structures may be in a dilapidated condition and may collapse, resulting in casualties. We do not want this to happen at any cost. Therefore, prompt action is necessary. We direct that prompt action be taken insofar as all the four zones are concerned,” it said.
Furthermore, it said that on the next day of hearing, the concerned authority shall provide a comprehensive report as regards Zone-B, Zone-C, and Zone-D, respectively.
“However, since illegal construction in Zone-A has been identified, appropriate action shall now be taken for demolition of the same,” the bench said.
“The overall picture, as reflected from the status report, appears to be extremely grim and serious. The authorities need to work day and night to demolish these unauthorized constructions,” it added.
“The extent of unauthorized/illegal construction in the entire town and at the outskirts is now borne out from the report itself of the authority,” the bench said.
In Uldepur the court stated that 44 sealed properties had received notices, and out of these, 22 have been demolished. The bench directed the demolition of the remaining 24 sealed properties at the earliest.
