SDMC officials call encroachment removal ‘routine process’

Mayor insists ‘massive drive’ being planned

Published - April 26, 2022 12:46 am IST - New Delhi 

Despite South Delhi Municipal Corporation officials saying that it is not planning to hold a massive campaign to remove encroachments, Mayor Mukesh Suryan on Monday reiterated that the drive will indeed take place, as per his instructions. .

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Suryan said the “anti-encroachment” drive will be a month-long exercise for which the civic body has identified encroachments in various wards in areas, including Sarita Vihar, Okhla and Shaheen Bagh. 

However, when The Hindu reached out, senior SDMC officials dismissed the notion that the month-long exercise – to remove encroachments – was part of what the Mayor called a “massive campaign”. 

“It is a routine process for us [SDMC] to come up with a monthly plan to remove encroachments, based on inspection and reports. We prepare these plans in advance because we might require police deployment at times. When we do not get it, the removal of encroachments might get delayed. It is a routine process, nothing else,” said a senior SDMC official. 

Another senior civic official dismissed the Mayor’s statement while adding, “The SDMC works within the four walls of law, we follow due process.”

However, Mr. Suryan has remained insistent that the “massive campaign” to remove encroachments was as per his directions, despite previous statements in which civic authorities have confirmed that no communication was received from the Mayor. 

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