NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will not impose damage charges on encroachers and arrange for lifting the demolition debris from around the ITO graveyard from Friday.
On Wednesday, around 50 illegal structures were demolished near the graveyard. “Damage charges are usually imposed when a person has made changes in a property beyond the sanctioned plan without taking permission. But here the construction was totally illegal and done in the form of shanties, tea stalls, offices etc. Now that we have demolished them completely, imposing damage charges won’t make sense,” said an MCD official.
There is also a plan to repair the road after clearing the stretch, though there is no plan to construct any footpath here. “We will arrange for the lifting of debris from the site from Friday to avoid inconvenience to commuters and also install streetlights for the safety of all,” said the official. After the drive on Wednesday, one side of the road is full of debris.
MCD had demolished these structures on the direction of Delhi High Court and cleared approximately 1,800 square metres of public land. “A petition was filed by the Yuva Sangarsh Samiti RWA against the illegal constructions, following which the direction was issued by the court,” said the official.
Locals claimed that the structures were constructed on MCD’s footpath and eventually extended horizontally and vertically. They demanded that the corporation should install proper lights so that the lane won’t become desolate at night.
