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CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday stayed the illegal conversion of residential land for commercial use in the area of municipal corporation (MC) Faridabad. The HC verdict would halt the operation of orders issued by the Faridabad administration on November 11 last year through which it had initiated the process of regularizing the commercial activities in residential plots by levying some conversion fee. The orders were issued by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Mahesh Grover while hearing an ongoing public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a social activist from Faridabad, Krishan Lal Gera. Stay orders came, following the submissions of the petitioner before the court that instead of taking strict action against those establishing illegal industrial structures in violation of zonal plan, the authorities had initiated the process of regularization. The petitioner had sought the intervention of the high court to order a probe by an independent agency into the functioning of the municipal corporation, Faridabad. The probe is demanded particularly with regard to its failure to remove or demolish unauthorized construction of residential houses and shops that continue to exist in the new industrial township (NIT) area. The petition has stated that Faridabad was supposed to be a planned city, in close proximity to the national capital but due to the callous and indifferent attitude of the authorities, the city was turning into a slum and still remained unplanned. Alleging that local authorities had turned a blind eye to the large-scale violation of land use, the petitioner sought directions for registration of FIRs against those persons who have converted the residential plots into industrial units in violation of the provisions of zoning plan. The case would come up for further hearing on April 28. |
| SOURCE: The Times of India |
