Illegal structures razed in Sectors 17,44

A dhaba owner had illegally occupied government land in the market by putting up more than 16 tables and 70 chairs. These were confiscated by the civic body apart from other items including utensils.

Interestingly,the team conducted checks twice in the day. The first round of raids was conducted in the afternoon and the vendors were fined. An hour later,the team re-visited the site and to their surprise,the encroachments were back.

Assistant Commissioner Kamlesh Kumar said: “We want to ensure that Sector 17 remains encroachment free. It is observed that encroachers come back once the drive is over. That is why a follow-up drive was also conducted. Other markets where encroachments are present will also be targeted. We will also be conducting awareness drives,” he said.

Chairman of the Enforcement Committee,M P S Chawla,said the enforcement staff would be conducting checks till late night to ensure that encroachers do not return to the market. “Checks would be conducted daily so that it proves to be a deterrent for encroachers,” Chawla said.

Meanwhile,an Enforcement Inspector of the MC gave a written complaint to the police after a vendor allegedly misbehaved with the staff and threatened them with dire consequences. One person was arrested on the basis of the complaint.

The drivers and staff of the Municipal Corporation were reportedly asked to submit their mobile phones before the drive. It had been observed earlier that encroachers somehow got prior information about the checks and the area used to be cleared up before the teams reached the spot. In order to tide over this problem,the mobile phones of the staff were taken and returned after the drive.

The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) also conducted an anti-encroachment drive in Sector 44D on Tuesday morning. According to CHB officials,as many as 28 houses were encroaching upon government land. “Encroachments were removed from MIG houses in the sector. The drive was completed peacefully and no untoward incident was reported from the area. By and large,people cooperated with us,” said an officer.

CHB officials warned of similar raids in other parts of the city to clear land of illegal occupation.