Civic body razes ‘illegal’ religious structures for RRTS corridor in Faridabad
Residents say no prior notice was issued, Nuh MLA condemns drive
People gather their belongings as the Faridabad District Administration conducts a demolition drive at the Masjid Chowk area, in Faridabad on Saturday. (ANI Video Grab) The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) on Saturday carried out a major demolition drive in the city’s New Industrial Township (NIT), razing alleged illegal religious structures, including a mosque and a temple, to clear the right of way for crucial infrastructure projects, said officials.
These constructions directly obstructed the alignment of the upcoming Gurgaon-Faridabad-Noida Namo Bharat Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor and a proposed elevated road project, they added.
The operation, which was carried out on the directives of the National Green Tribunal, began at 4 am amid heavy police deployment. The Home department had ordered a temporary suspension of mobile Internet, bulk SMS, and dongle services within a 1-km radius of the demolition site.
The mosque called Jama Masjid, built on 700 sq yard at Masjid Chowk in NIT-3 and at least 40 years old, was frequented by members of the Meo-Muslim (Mewati) community.
“The Jama Masjid was built in the 1970s and saw daily prayers. There was also a madarsa inside,” Gurugram Imam Sangathan chief Mufti Abdul Haseeb Qasmi told The Indian Express.
“The local imam told me no prior notices regarding the demolition were issued,” he added.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Paramjeet Chahal told The Indian Express that the drive “was long overdue”. He also denied that notices were not served before the demolition was carried out.
“The land on which the encroachments had come up belonged to the government… the land had been transferred to the civic body. We have been pasting notices on such properties for a while now,” he said.
“We restricted the drive to one mosque, one small Shiv temple that was 400 m away from the mosque, and some shops. We will update the High Court, Supreme Court and the NGT since the drive was undertaken in compliance with their directions,” he added.
A senior civic official, who did not wish to be named, said, “All due process was followed and multiple notices were issued. The masjid was an encroachment on a public road, and the temple was built on a green belt.”
“Duty magistrates were deployed and the drive wrapped up peacefully by 6 pm, though we have asked the police and the administration to station personnel at the area overnight to maintain law and order.”
Asked why the drive was undertaken, the official said, “The route fell under the RRTS’ proposed alignment and needed to be cleared.”
The police began barricading the area around Masjid Chowk at 2 am, completely restricting civilian and vehicular movement before earth-moving machines were deployed, a Faridabad Police spokesperson said.
Nuh Congress MLA Aftab Ahmed, who visited the site, condemned the drive.
“It was done to target members of the minority community and destroy the mosque. The mosque is not located on the main road. They had not sent notices… The last notice was sent a year ago, saying that demolitions will take place. At that time, the panchayat had intervened,” he claimed.
“They put the imam and his son and several others under house arrest… or detained them… Now, just to maintain peace, they have destroyed a Shiv temple, which was built on the green belt,” he alleged.
The police, however, denied the allegations. “We did not detain or put anyone on house arrest. The land belongs to the civic body and we were following orders… The main mosque was located on the public road and the temple was built on the green belt,” Faridabad Police spokesperson Yashpal Yadav said.
Civic officials said the anti-encroachment drive will continue in the area to ensure the timely completion of infrastructure works.
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