New Delhi, May 31 (IANS). The Delhi government on Sunday carried out a massive demolition drive in the Haiderpur village area of Shalimar Bagh to implement the Supreme Court verdict against unauthorized constructions on a public road.
Central-North district District Magistrate (DM) SS Parihar said the action was being taken in compliance with court orders.
He said that the joint survey conducted on January 10, 2026 found that a total of 143 unauthorized permanent (pacca) constructions existed within the prescribed 30 meter public road.
He said the land in dispute is government-acquired land, designated as a public road in the master plan of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and is part of the prescribed right-of-way of road number 320.
The administration has clarified that this action will continue until all illegal constructions located in the designated area are removed and land is made available for the road widening project.
He said the road is part of an important traffic corridor connecting the Shalimar Bagh Railway Underbridge (RUB) to the Outer Ring Road.
He informed that this route connects Ring Road, Azadpur, Shalimar Bagh and surrounding large residential, commercial and institutional areas, and ensures access to hospitals, government offices and developing administrative complexes.
He further said that the existing width of the road has been badly affected due to encroachments, leading to regular traffic jams and difficulty in movement of ambulances, fire vehicles and other emergency services.
According to the DM, the acquisition of the concerned land was initiated through notifications in the years 1959 and 1961 for the planned development of Delhi.
The land acquisition declaration was issued in the year 1966, and Award Nos. 40/1980-81 and 50/1980-81 were declared in the year 1980. The possession of the land was taken in July 1980, and the remaining compensation amount was also deposited in the year 1981. Thus, the process of land acquisition and compensation payment was completed more than four decades ago.
Parihar informed that in 2025, scientific demarcation of land was done using Total Station Method (TSM) technique jointly by DDA, Revenue Department, Land and Building Department and Public Works Department.
He said that the joint survey conducted on January 10, 2026 found that a total of 143 unauthorized permanent (pucca) constructions existed within the prescribed 30 meter right of way.
He said that out of this, the existing road is located in an area of about 19.5 meters, while an area of about 10.5 meters is blocked due to encroachment.
He said that the administration has adopted the principle of minimum displacement in the implementation of the project. Although the sanctioned right of way is 30 metres, action is being taken only in the required 10.5 meter area at the present stage so that maximum structures can be saved while maintaining a balance between public interest and minimum displacement.
The DM informed that a public notice was issued in January 2026 inviting objections from the affected persons. These information were also published in major newspapers. After considering all the objections, an order was passed by the Land Acquisition Collector on 20 March 2026.
–IANS
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