The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday declined to stop the authorities from demolishing encroachments and other violations in front of residential plots in Gurugram. .A Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry said that the authorities were free to take action for removal of the encroachments and other violations in accordance with law."As far as municipal norms, which are not in question, are concerned, we can't stop them. There are things like road has been encroached on both sides, that is not permissible," Chief Justice Nagu remarked.The Court observed that people were shifting their residences due to acute lack of space for walking."People are leaving these colonies in Delhi because they don't find space to walk," it remarked..The Court made the clarification after an application was filed by certain Gurugram residents alleging that the action was taken under the garb of a recent order passed by the Bench.On April 2, the High Court had restrained the State from going ahead with the ‘stilt + 4 floor policy’ for residential plots. The Court had remarked that merely to earn more revenue, the State of Haryana had put the safety and security of the general public at stake. "State and its functionaries turning a Nelson’s eye towards the desperate shortage of infrastructural requirement in Gurugram city have given a go by to the all important aspect of conducting “INFRASTRUCTURE CAPACITY AUDIT” before implementing the stilt + 4 policy. It thus, seems that the State has abdicated its constitutional duty of ensuring clean and healthy urban environment for the citizens of Gurugram," the Bench had said.The earlier permissible limit was of stilt + 3 floors. The order had been passed following an inspection of a court commissioner at Sector 28, DLF Phase-I, Gurugram.Today, the Court was informed that following the order, the authorities had come with bulldozers to various areas in Gurugram and started removing various constructions."We got the entire areas in the entire State inspected. As far as Gurugram is concerned, we have cleared 336 km lanes. People have placed DG sets, guardrooms, all fencing done outside their houses; though in their zoning plan they can't even park their car outside the boundary wall. People had made huge ramps which were passing into the roads itself," Senior Advocate Ankur Mittal, appearing for the State, said.Mittal said that the action was not being taken in pursuance with the earlier Court order but to secure right to way in these areas. He added that the authorities will issue notices with regard to violation of norms, but not to remove blatant encroachment of roads..Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the applicants, said that even trees were being removed by the authorities in violation of law."It can't be that authorities run rogue on the basis of this and put the blame on the Court's shoulders...in the garb of this interim order, a notification is issued by the government to all these authorities saying 'go and demolition right away'," he said.Chief Justice Nagu responded that drastic steps were needed to improve the situation in Gurugram."You are aware what happens in monsoon in Gurugram. In these sectors, there is total chaos there. Something drastic needs to be done about it.".In the order passed after the hearing, the Court clarified that its earlier interim order for stay on ‘stilt + 4 floor policy’ was limited to Gurugram and was prospective in nature.Further, it declined to interfere with the ongoing anti-encroachment drive in Gurugram."We also permit the municipal as well as State authorities to remove all other encroachment/violations of municipal norms as mentioned in the order dated 16.04.2026 after following the due process of law," the Bench said..The Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) was set to begin an anti-encroachment demolition drive across 44 sectors of Gurugram today. Earlier, a 5-day-long demolition drive was conducted by the municipal authorities.Earlier today, the matter was mentioned before the Supreme Court, which urged the High Court to hear the matter today itself.
