The Hindu : New Delhi News : Notices to owners of illegal structures

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Notices to owners of illegal structures

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

Power Dept. cracks the whip on constructions which are perilously close to transmission lines

No construction is allowed within 15 metres of the wires
Notices issued to residents of Sangam Vihar, Chhatarpur, Kapashera, Mundka

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Government’s Power Department has issued fresh notices to owners of unauthorised constructions to adhere to building by-laws and bring down illegal structures that have come up perilously close to the transmission lines of Delhi Transco Limited.

The Department, which has been taking up the issue of demolition of illegal structures periodically, is hoping to get relief from a recent Delhi High Court judgment directing the civic authorities to resume pulling down of such buildings.

“We have been advertising and issuing notices to the public to bring down illegal constructions that are close to or have come up under the 220/400 kV extra high voltage power lines. Despite our notices there are several places in the city where illegal constructions are menacingly close to power lines,” said a Power Department official.

While the Department on its own cannot raze illegal buildings, it has to bring such constructions to the notice of the owners of the land on which the structures stand. “We have to write to the Delhi Development Authority or the Municipal Corporation of Delhi or the Public Works Department for removing such illegal and unauthorised buildings,” the official said.

Pointing out the perils of constructions and even trees growing in close proximity to the transmission lines, the official said: “At some places the residents or the owners of the land have grown trees under the 400/220 kV transmission lines that sometime cause transient tripping on the lines jeopardising the stability of the grid.”

As per rule, no construction is allowed to come up within 15 metres of the wires on both sides. The Indian Electricity Rules specify that there should be 7.3 m vertical clearance and 5.7 m horizontal clearance from live conductor above the highest part of the building or grown tree for a 400 kV tower line and 5.5 m vertical and 3.8 m horizontal clearance for a 220 kV power line. “For contraventions to these stipulations, the Department gives a 15-day window period to pull down the structures, failing which action is taken through the municipal authorities,” said the official.

Notices have recently been issued to residents of Sangam Vihar, Pul Prahladpur, Chhatarpur, Kapashera, Mundka, Ganesh Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Ramesh Park, Surender Colony, Mubarakpur and Burari where constructions have come up beneath 400/220 kV lines.

“While there is no data on how many places have transmission lines running close to dwellings, the problem is predominant in the rural areas and in 20-Point Programme plots that have a network of wires crisscrossing over residential units,” the official said.

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