NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has directed the MCD to conduct a survey of buildings situated in the vicinity of heritage properties in the capital to check if there are any illegal constructions.
A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia passed the direction while hearing a petition raising concern about preserving the character of various properties, which were declared to be “heritage”.
The bench directed that the survey will ascertain if constructions raised in such buildings were in accordance with the norms and the ‘approved’ building plan. “The survey team that is to be constituted by the municipal body shall also include one officer of the heritage conservation committee. The survey report in respect of each heritage property as mentioned in the petitions shall be filed separately after serving a copy to the petitioners who may file their response to the survey report, if any, by the next date of hearing,” the bench said.
The order came almost a month after the city saw violence over the anti-encroachment drive near Faiz-e-Elahi Mosque in Ramlila Maidan area. People pelted stones at police personnel, injuring five of them, including the area’s station house officer. Several persons have been arrested.
“The survey under this order shall be completed within a period of three months,” the bench said, while listing the matter for further hearing on May 15.
The petition filed by Kusum Sehgal claimed that the construction around heritage properties “tend to change the character of such heritage properties and, in fact, such constructions sometimes result in defacement of the heritage buildings”. It claimed that in many such cases, while approving the building plan, the MCD ignored the relevant building bye-laws and even the advice tendered by the heritage conservation committee.
It further claimed that the occupiers of the buildings situated in the vicinity of heritage properties also deviate from the sanctioned building plan which also has an adverse impact on these properties.