Above: A house is being constructed in East Delhi. Photo: Kh Manglembi Devi  

The Delhi High Court bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar, dealing with rampant illegal construction in Delhi in full view of municipal authorities, on Wednesday (November 1) ordered the East Delhi Municipal Corporation to bring records of all properties which they have approved or have sanctioned, including plans of buildings constructed in the concerned area.

At the same time, the bench also ordered Delhi Police to bring in the records of all the complaints in regards to the illegal unauthorized construction.

The petitioner, Anil Dutt Sharma, has asked for direction from the court under Article 226 of the constitution for stopping such rampant illegal construction of which the MCD and Delhi Police are aware but take no action. The petition says that police is not taking any action against the illegal constructors. “They excuse themselves, saying we can’t do anything without the intervention from MCD,” the petitioner alleged.

According to the petition, more than 400 properties had been illegally constructed and MCD officials were hand-in-glove with the culprits. He said that the illegal buildings’ plans had also been passed by those corrupt MCD officials.

The Court listed the matter for the next hearing to February 23, 2018.

—India Legal Bureau​