Gurgaon: The department of town and country planning (DTCP) has recommended blacklisting of 15 architects following alleged irregularities in the issuance of occupation certificates (OCs).The architects include Niharika Yadav, Yashpal, Jatin Lochab, Jivesh, Sudiksha Kaushik, Aman Sharma, Deepak Jayant, Ravinder, Ravi Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Gomati Prasad, Jyoti Sharma, Rosy Raghav, Jitender and Somansh Singhal.Department sources said fresh OC applications submitted by these architects are no longer being accepted pending further action. The department is also examining the possibility of imposing financial penalties and initiating further disciplinary action.One of the biggest crackdowns in the matter followed a joint probe — conducted by the chief minister’s flying squad and planning authorities — that uncovered multiple instances of OCs being granted to incomplete and under-construction buildings.After months of inspections across licensed colonies in Gurgaon, investigators found several properties that had secured OCs despite construction being far from complete. In some cases, buildings were found at the brickwork stage, without plastering or basic finishing work, yet had been certified fit for occupation. Officials said the CM flying squad sought details of nearly 1,500 OCs issued by architects during a nine-month period. Subsequent site inspections and document verification allegedly revealed a pattern of certifications being granted in violation of prescribed norms.According to officials, the district town planner (planning) forwarded the names of the architects to the senior town planner for blacklisting after finding prima facie violations of the self-certification policy and the Haryana Building Code, 2017.District town planner Praveen Chauhan told TOI, “The architects concerned issued OCs for incomplete, unfit and under-construction buildings. Show-cause notices were issued, but in most cases either no replies were received or the responses were found unsatisfactory.”The recommendations have been forwarded to the directorate of town and country planning headquarters for a final decision. “Such violations will not be tolerated and inspections will be intensified in the coming months,” senior town planner Renuka Singh said.The alleged violations came to light during the large-scale verification exercise. Investigators examined OCs issued between July 2025 and March 2026 under Haryana’s self-certification framework, which authorises empanelled architects to certify completion of residential buildings.As part of the probe, inspection teams recently visited multiple properties in BPTP Astaire Gardens, Imperial and Green Oaks in Sector 70A. Of the 22 buildings inspected, nearly 14 were found to be incomplete, with only brick structures standing and finishing work yet to begin. Despite this, OCs had already been issued for these properties, officials said.Similar discrepancies earlier surfaced in licensed colonies including Ansal Esencia, Anant Raj, South City-1, South City-2 and Sector 61, where investigators allegedly found under-construction structures that had been shown as complete in official records.The case has raised fresh concerns over Haryana’s self-certification regime, which was introduced to fast-track approvals but is now facing scrutiny over the adequacy of checks and accountability mechanisms.
