The Punjab and Haryana high court, in a first-of-its-kind order, has directed the developer of an illegal colony in Bhangrola village off Dwarka Expressway to refund money to plot buyers.
The illegal colony developed on a 3-acre land was demolished by department of town and country planning (DTCP), and a case was registered against its builder.
The accused was asked to deposit the money collected from the buyers of illegal plots when the court was hearing his petition seeking anticipatory bail.
The order is likely to help curb mushrooming of illegal colonies, a major hurdle in the planned development in new sectors of Gurgaon along Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) and Dwarka Expressway. Till now, developers of illegal colonies used to go scot-free while gullible buyers lost their plots and homes in demolition drives carried out by government agencies. This will be the first time when people who bought plots in an illegal colony will get refund from a developer in the state.
The development of an illegal colony on a 3-acre land in Bhangrola village came to the notice of the government in May 2017 when one Pradeep Yadav filed a complaint with DTCP. Taking cognizance of the complaint, DTCP issued multiple notices the builder of the colony, and the department filed a complaint at Kherki Daula police station in January 2018.
During the investigation, the police found multiple structures on the spot, including a restaurant, multi-storey buildings and several under-construction homes, even though multiple notices were issued to the builder.
In its report, the investigation team mentioned that new structures were being built on the land even though a case was filed in the court. In October 2018, a local court in Gurgaon directed the police and DTCP to seal the buildings in the illegal colony. In October and November 2018, DTCP carried out demolition drives in the colony.
Meanwhile, one of the developers — Sandeep — filed an anticipatory bail application before the local court in Gurgaon. The petition was dismissed. Following this, he approached the high court. In February this year, the HC passed an order to grant anticipatory bail to the accused if he deposits the amount received from the people who had bought plots in the colony.
The court of Justice Ajay Tewari in the order observed that “innocent people were induced by the builder and the revenue department executed registry of the land, and in such case, buyers should not be the sole losers. The builder who illegally developed the colony and sold plots should refund the money, the HC bench said.
In May this year, the builder agreed to deposit the money. The HC directed the Gurgaon court to refund the buyers who claimed the money. Only one buyer — Manoj from Bhondsi — who had bought a 500-square-yard plot approached the court on Monday for the refund.
The buyer is expected to get a refund of Rs 84 lakh. DTCP counsel Arvind Sharma said the order will go a long way in tackling unplanned development in form of illegal colonies. “Refund of money to the buyers will make the developer accountable, and it will also act as a deterrent,” said Sharma.
