Will put demolition drive on hold till August 16 in Bhalswa Dairy colony: MCD tells Delhi HC

New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Tuesday informed the Delhi High Court that it will not demolish any illegal structures in northwest Delhi’s Bhalswa Dairy colony till August 16, when the court is scheduled to take up a related matter.

The statement was made by the MCD’s counsel when a counsel representing residents of the dairy colony approached the court apprising it that MCD bulldozers with heavy police force have reached the area for demolition.

The matter was mentioned before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.

Taking note of the MCD’s counsel oral statement, the court said it will take up the matter on August 16, when it will also hear a petition regarding the state of dairies in the city.

In July, the court had directed the authorities to ensure that unauthorised construction in all dairy colonies in the national capital is removed and asked them to take immediate steps for shifting dairies from Bhalswa to Ghogha dairy colony within four weeks.

On Tuesday, the court was informed that MCD passed a demolition order on Monday evening and bulldozers as well as force have reached the area Tuesday morning.

As the counsel representing the residents of the area claimed that four deaths took place on Monday, the court took an umbrage to the submission and said it was exceptionally wrong.

“You said four deaths have taken place. This gave an impression as if the deaths took place due to the MCD’s action. Whereas, no death has taken place. It is being done to scandalise the court,” the bench said.

It warned the lawyer not to politicise the issue, and said “Don’t bring emotions to it” and “you must feel for the city”.

The lawyer clarified that he was not politicising the issue and only made the submission as briefed to him.

The MCD has identified 800 illegal structures in the area and plans to relocate more than 400 dairies, which are believed to house hundreds of animals, to Ghogha dairy on the outskirts of Delhi.

In a public notice issued last week, the civic body gave a three-day ultimatum to defaulters to vacate the encroached premises. It said enforcement action will be taken against all illegal and unauthorised constructions after the expiry of the deadline and a demolition drive will be carried out.

However, the MCD has served notices to only 100 dwellers so far, according to an official.

According to MCD land use rules, a dairy plot can only be used for running cattle sheds and cannot be converted into a dwelling unit.

The MCD action comes after the high court directed the agency to carry out a survey of the Bhalswa Dairy colony to identify misuse of dairy plots that have been converted into dwelling units and shops and are being misused for industrial purposes.

The court was earlier informed by the court commissioner that the condition of all nine designated dairy colonies in Delhi -- Kakrola Dairy, Goela Dairy, Nangli Shakrawati Dairy, Jharoda Dairy, Bhalswa Dairy, Ghazipur Dairy, Shahbad Daulatpur Dairy, Madanpur Khadar Dairy, and Masoodpur Dairy -- was "bad".

Perusing the photographs of the dairies, the court had noted that there were large-scale constructions and urbanisation in some of the dairy colonies, including salons, showrooms, gymnasiums, and internet cafes.

It had said the character of the colonies had ceased to be that of dairy colonies as commercial showrooms were operating there and superstructures as high as four storeyed had come up for residential and commercial purposes.