NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has removed all confusion, if any, in the minds of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) authorities on how to go about demolition of unauthorised constructions in the city as well as the nature of violations they require to target.

While laying down modalities for carrying out the drive and the nature of violations that the civic body should proceed against, a Division Bench comprising Justice Vijender and Justice Rekha Sharma said demolition should be complete and not "partial" or "cosmetic", as the local body was doing at present.

The local body should raze illegal portions or properties completely. It should not cause only partial damage, leaving scope for the violators to repair them later and resume their business, the Bench said.

MCD should also ensure that the violators do not rebuild their illegal properties, and if the same was done, the civic body should demolish them and recover the expenditure incurred on the demolition of the rebuilt illegal properties from the violators.

Projection of lintels and encroachments on pavements, extension of the built-up areas beyond the limits earmarked in the building sanction plan, extra floors, coverage of setbacks beyond the sanction plan, commercial properties in residential areas, misuse of residential properties for commercial purposes and buildings on public land, all should be demolished by the local body, the Bench directed. The Bench further directed the local body that once it began demolition in a particular zone, it should not withdraw from there till the job was finished. The Bench directed the MCD to put up at prominent places in all its 12 zones the list of illegal properties, alternations and additions in violation of the building sanction plans and the names of the owners of these properties so that residents of that particular zone know who were the violators and the law-breakers also get an opportunity to demolish their illegal portions or properties on their own.

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