Gurgaon: Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) has sought a fresh progress report from Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) on action taken against unauthorised paying guest (PG) facilities and guest houses operating in residential colonies, bringing the department’s enforcement mechanism under renewed scrutiny.Hearing a suo motu case based on a media report, the commission directed DTCP director and district town planner (enforcement) in Gurgaon, to submit further progress reports at least a week before the next hearing on Oct 6. “Illegal buildings and unauthorised constructions are placing a burden on infrastructure, which in turn is causing inconvenience to the public. Therefore, the matter has been taken up by the commission,” an official of the commission said.In its action-taken report, DTCP outlined its regulatory jurisdiction and enforcement measures against unauthorised PGs and guest houses. It stated that its powers are limited to licensed colonies and controlled areas falling within its statutory domain under Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975, and the rules framed under it.The department said the state govt had notified a policy in 2021 to regulate establishment and operation of guest and boarding houses in residential zones. According to its records, 218 permissions have been granted for guest houses in such areas.It also informed the commission that the department’s enforcement wing has been acting against unauthorised guest houses and PGs by issuing notices, carrying out sealing proceedings, lodging FIRs and initiating steps to revoke occupation certificates wherever violations were found. The department said more than 2,000 residential licences had been granted in the city and a detailed survey of DLF 1 to 5 had been conducted to identify violations, including illegal operation of guest houses and PGs.The enforcement drive, however, has been affected by litigation. The department told the commission that after a Nov 26, 2025 order of Punjab and Haryana high court, it was restrained from taking coercive action against violations in DLF 1 to 5. A later order dated May 29, 2026, limited the restraint to properties whose owners had approached the high court through appropriate applications.The department said it then initiated an action against properties not covered by interim protection. It carried out sealing-cum-demolition drives from June 18 to 20 and again from July 3 to 4. In the first phase, 13 PGs with 456 rooms and two guest houses with 63 rooms were sealed. In the second phase, two PGs with 50 rooms and one guest house with 24 rooms were sealed.DTCP has also identified 50 guest houses and PGs operating from residential plots in licensed colonies outside DLF 1 to 5 and initiated enforcement proceedings, including show-cause notices and action under the 1975 Act.
