Nearly 500 temporary and permanent structures were razed by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) in a day-long demolition drive on Wednesday to clear encroachments from over 7-acre land at the biodiversity park on Mehrauli-Gurugram Road.

Written complaint

The MCG has also given a written complaint against half-a-dozen of residents of Nathupur village at DLF Phase-II police station for registration of a case in this connection.

A team led by Additional Municipal Commissioner Y.S. Gupta and comprising 400 police personnel kicked off the demolition drive around 7 a.m. Fifteen backhoe loaders razed over 400 jhuggis and nearly 100 permanent structures by afternoon.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (DLF) Anil Kumar, four Station House Officers, 300 policemen and 100 policewomen were also present during the drive.

A press statement issued by the municipal body said that the MCG team made an announcement asking residents to remove their belongings before the drive started.

An FIR was registered against Nathupur residents and brothers Rajkumar and Jaikumar on May 15 under Sections 447 (criminal trespass) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1981.

Stating that the 350-acre biodiversity park was the lifeline of the Millennium City, MCG Commissioner Yashpal Yadav said the 7-acre of land in question had been illegally encroached upon since Nathupur village was included in the municipal area in 2008.

He said the jhuggi-jhonpri cluster on the encroached land was causing inconvenience to residents of several blocks of DLF Phase-III and that notices had been sent to the dwellers several times in the past. Mr. Yadav said the land in question will be developed into a green patch and beautified.

Warning those who have encroached upon MCG land, Mr. Yadav said the municipal body was serious about removing encroachment from its land. He added that the MCG will continue its anti-encroachment drive in future.

The 7-acre land in question had been illegally encroached upon since Nathupur village was included in the municipal area in 2008

Yashpal Yadav

MCG Commissioner

Officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) told The Hindu that a spike in generation of waste is witnessed primarily on two occasions — during Ganesh Chaturthi and Ramzan. And with restaurants and eateries doing brisk business in the holy month, the city sees an additional waste generation of up to approximately 300 metric tonnes per day.

“Plastic is used for containers to store or serve edible items. The spoons and bowls, particularly used by haleem outlets, are made of plastic. Then there are those who use use polythene bags to carry food and other items. At times, this poses a problem as waste is dumped into nalas by some people,” a GHMC official said.

Explaining the trends in waste generation, Project Director of GHMC’s Swachh Bharat Mission Soma Bharat said the daily generation of waste ranges roughly between 4,600 and 5,000 metric tonnes per day. “During Ramzan, an additional 200 metric tonnes to 300 tonnes is generated per day. Of this, around 20% is plastic waste,” he said.

Officials said to tackle disposal of waste, the GHMC had a meeting with owners of restaurants and eateries. A circular has been sent to officials instructing them to complete de-silting by May 16 and ensure garbage lifting around masjids every day.

“In fact, it was only last month that we had a meeting with shopkeepers regarding the use of plastic. We are also incentivising the non-use of plastic,” said GHMC Additional Commissioner (SWM-HIMWS and Sanitation) Smriti Ojha.