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Owners of houses in Aravallis get time till March 31 to vacate

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave time till March 31 next year to owners of 33 illegal houses at Kant Enclave in Faridabad in the Aravalli hills, ordered to be demolished for violation of environmental norms.

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Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 11

The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave time till March 31 next year to owners of 33 illegal houses at Kant Enclave in Faridabad in the Aravalli hills, ordered to be demolished for violation of environmental norms.

A Bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur, however, made it clear that the extension of time was subject to the house owners filing undertakings in the Supreme Court’s Registry that they would vacate the premises by March 31, 2019.

Those adversely affected by the demolition order had sought time till April 2019 to vacate the land. Their counsel had earlier submitted that Rs50 lakh was insufficient as they could not even buy two-bedroom flats with Rs50 lakh. They said they were retired persons who did not have money to pay rent.

While compensation was being given to 33 house owners, the state pointed out that its officers found that there were 19 houses with ground+2 storeys, eight houses with ground+1 storeys and 15 single-storey houses, taking the total to 42 houses. In some houses property dealers were operating, it added.

The Bench asked the Haryana Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, Town and Country Planning, to examine documents of 33 house owners whose illegal constructions were directed to be demolished by the year-end.

The two officials would look into the papers and documents regarding plots of land and construction and prepare a joint report by January 10 to help sort out disbursement of money deposited by the state government in court.

Haryana Additional Advocate General Anil Grover said the state had already deposited Rs16.5 crore in the top court’s Registry, as ordered by the court on November 28, towards payment of Rs50 lakh each to 33 house owners.

The Bench also allowed the state government to recover half the money deposited with the Registry from the builders. It would take up the matter on January 14, 2019.

The state’s counsel said there were 19 plots having two-storey building while houses with ground and first floor were on eight plots. He said in several other plots, only boundary walls had been raised.

The Supreme Court had on November 28 asked the government to disburse Rs50 lakh to each person whose construction in Kant Enclave was ordered to be demolished by it for violation of environmental norms and court orders.

The Bench had on September 11 ordered the government to demolish illegal construction that came up in Kant Enclave after August 18, 1992, and ordered compensation for adversely affected persons.

In its original order, the top court had directed the builder — R Kant & Co — to give full refund along with 18 per cent annual interest to hundreds of persons who invested in land from date of investment.

Applying the “polluter pays principle”, it had ordered the builder to deposit Rs 5 crore in the Aravalli Rehabilitation Fund within a month.

“The rule of law seems to have broken down in Haryana,” it had said, terming the violations as “quite frightening”.

The Bench had given liberty to those not satisfied with compensation amount to claim damages from R Kant & Co and Haryana Town and Country Planning Department by filing civil suits.

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