Gurugram, April 25: Following one of the most aggressive urban clearing operations in recent years, Gurugram authorities declared that 216 km of road length has been reclaimed from private encroachment. The Department of Town and Country Planning targeted elite neighborhoods where homeowners had extended boundary walls and staircases onto public land, obstructing both traffic and civic maintenance.
Amit Madholia, the District Town Planner for Enforcement, stated that the operation was necessary to restore roads to their planned widths of 9 to 24 meters. He affirmed that the department identified over 7,000 properties for action, with 1,000 specific extensions being demolished by heavy machinery. Madholia maintained that the systematic recovery of this land will be detailed in a formal submission to the High Court.
“This action is part of a time-bound mandate to restore the city’s infrastructure,” Madholia affirmed. He stated that the scale of the recovery reflects the department’s commitment to ending the illegal occupation of public thoroughfares that had persisted for years.
Pedestrians in Palam Vihar and Sushant Lok asserted that the cleared roads are now significantly safer. Local residents declared that the previous encroachments had not only created traffic hazards but also contributed to severe waterlogging by covering rainwater drains. Gupta, a resident of Palam Vihar, affirmed that the drive is a lifesaving development for children and senior citizens who no longer have to navigate heavy traffic on foot.
Looking ahead, the Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran declared that it has requested a police force of 100 personnel for its own drive beginning next week. Officials stated that 25 sectors, including Sectors 43, 56, and 29, will be covered in phases between April 27 and May 8 to ensure that all road berms are cleared of illegal occupation.
