Punjab and Haryana High Court stays demolition of UltraTech Cement plant in Gurgaon’s Manesar
The Municipal Corporation of Manesar issued the demolition order to UltraTech Cement more than five months after it submitted the required documents, which the company described as a delayed, and arbitrary action that violated principles of natural justice.
The Ultratech plant in Gurgaon (File Photo) The Punjab and Haryana High Court has provided significant temporary relief to UltraTech Cement Limited, a major player in the cement industry, by staying the demolition order issued by the Municipal Corporation of Manesar (MCM) against the company’s ready mix concrete (RMC) plant located in Haryana’s Gurgaon district.
In an order passed on January 19, Justice Harsh Bunger directed that the demolition order dated January 9 – which mandated UltraTech to immediately cease operations and demolish the plant within seven days, with the threat of the corporation carrying out the demolition and recovering costs as arrears of land revenue – shall remain in abeyance until the next hearing scheduled for February 25.
The interim stay was granted after senior counsel Anand Chhibbar, assisted by advocates Abhilaksh Gaind, represented UltraTech and argued that the plant has been operating lawfully for more than 25 years with all required statutory approvals. Senior counsel Jagdish Manchanda, along with advocates Nischal Chetanya Manchanda and Saksham Kaushik, appeared for the Municipal Corporation of Manesar and sought additional time to file a detailed reply, which the court permitted.
The RMC plant, originally established by UltraTech’s predecessor company, Grasim Industries (under the unit name Vikram Premium RMC), in the late 1990s, is a substantial facility valued at approximately Rs 100 crore. It currently employs 171 workers and plays a vital role in supplying ready-mix concrete to numerous ongoing building and infrastructure projects across the Gurugram region.
According to the detailed writ petition filed by UltraTech, the plant received key approvals long before the Municipal Corporation of Manesar came into existence. These include an in-principle change of land use (CLU) permission dated November 5, 1998, followed by formal CLU approval on November 16, 1998, and building plan approval on December 18, 1998. All these documents expressly referred to the unit as an RMC facility operated by Grasim Industries Ltd (Unit: Vikram Premium RMC), with the approved site plan clearly titled as such.
More recent clearances include a factory licence issued on November 25, 2025, a fire no-objection certificate, and consent to operate from the Haryana State Pollution Control Board dated August 30, 2024, which categorises ready mix concrete operations in the low-pollution “green” category.
Approvals obtained before constitution of Manesar civic body
UltraTech has emphasised that the Municipal Corporation of Manesar was only constituted on December 24, 2020, through a government notification under the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994. At the time the plant was set up, and approvals were obtained, no permission from this body was required or possible. The company relies on Section 350D of the same Act, which explicitly states that any acts done under the earlier Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act, 1963, are deemed valid under the new municipal corporation framework.
The petition strongly criticises the demolition order for proceeding on the incorrect assumption that the original CLU permission was only for a generic “factory” and not specifically for an RMC plant. UltraTech points out that there was no legal requirement in 1998 to specify the exact nature of industrial activity in such detail, and the authorities at the time were fully aware of the intended RMC operations.
‘Demolition order was an arbitrary action’
Despite the company submitting comprehensive replies with all supporting documents on July 18, 2025, and August 6, 2025, in response to earlier show-cause notices, the municipal corporation allegedly failed to consider these materials. The demolition order was issued more than five months later, which UltraTech describes as a delayed, arbitrary, and high-handed action that violates principles of natural justice.
The company further contends that the order infringes its fundamental rights under Articles 14 (equality), 19(1)(g) (right to carry on business), 21 (right to life and livelihood), and 300-A (protection of property) of the Constitution of India. Additionally, it argues that the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation lacks the authority to issue such an order following a 2014 amendment to the Act, which vests enforcement powers in controlled areas with the director of Urban Local Bodies, and no valid delegation of this power has been shown.
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