Remove constructions voluntarily in Azadpur for Metro:HC

New Delhi, Dec 7 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today allowed the shopkeepers of Azadpur village to demolish their shops and residential premises voluntarily to pave way for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

A bench comprising Justices TS Thakur and Veena Birbal directed the 30-odd shopkeepers of Azadpur village to clear their constructions within a week, failing which the authorities would demolish them.

The bench directed The Land Aquisition Collector, DMRC and PWD (Public Works Department)to demarcate the land as per their requirement by December 11, 2007. Thereafter, the villagers should remove their constructions on the area voluntarily within a month.

Counsel for DMRC Virender Sood said that the Metro Rail project was being implemented in the Azadpur area for which they had already given their requirements to the collector (land aquisitions), but the villagers were not vacating the land.

Some 30-odd shopkeepers had approached the High Court seeking permission for voluntarily demolishing their shops to avoid damage to other adjoining structures by the bulldozers used by the authorities.

Mr Poddar, counsel for the collector(land acquisitions), told the High Court that they had issued notification under Section 17(1) of the Act for occupying land for the Metro rail project as well as for PWD to build road separators. The work was in progress and they will earmark the area by December 11 and as per the court orders will wait for a month for the villagers to vacate the land.

UNI