The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has again urged residents to voluntarily rectify building violations to avoid penal action.

On the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the CHB launched a demolition drive against illegal constructions and encroachments on government land in the first week of this month.

According to officials, the CHB has so far issued nearly 32,000 notices for building violations and encroachments on government land across the city. The board has directed them to deposit demolition and restoration charges or face action.

386 houses in Sectors 29, 30 of Chandigarh get notices over building violations

The officials stated that the notices had been served on residents who had carried out unauthorised constructions or deviated from approved building plans. These include construction of extra rooms, storage spaces and balconies on rooftops without permission. In several cases, homeowners have also altered the original structural design by erecting additional pillars, which, officials say, pose serious safety concerns besides violating building regulations.

According to the UT Administration, the crackdown is aimed at ensuring adherence to building rules and curbing illegal constructions in the city. Unauthorised structures or encroachments were razed in Sectors 41 and 45 as part of the drive.

"Since there are a large number of houses that have illegal constructions, the CHB has started the drive to raze the violations," said the officials.

The High Court, vide its order dated November 28, 2019, had directed the CHB to constitute a committee to find out whether certain buildings are unsafe for residential purpose.

Accordingly, an expert committee was constituted on December 13, 2019, and it submitted its report to the High Court. The court directed the authorities to take remedial measures to rectify the illegal constructions or encroachments.

Disposing of a civil writ petition, the High Court, vide its judgment dated April 21, 2022, directed the CHB to take immediate action within one month to restore critical structural components such as pillars, load-bearing walls, foundations and cantilevers that had been altered or removed; and ensure structural safety of all affected dwelling units. The court also told the CHB to recover the cost of such restoration from the respective allottees on a pro-rata basis, proportionate to the extent of violations, as per the approved schedule of rates.