Gurgaon: The crackdown on unauthorised construction in the city is now moving beyond residential colonies. Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) has ordered a plot-wise survey of industrial estates for illegal construction, land-use violations and encroachments.The exercise, which could eventually lead to sealing or demolition of offending structures after due process, covers a substantial part of the city’s established industrial belt. The areas falling under this category include Udyog Vihar phases I-VI, Pace City-I and II, Sector 18 industrial areas, Electronic City, sectors 33-34, Sector 16 and sectors 34-35. An office order issued by HSIIDC’s Udyog Vihar estate office says three joint inspection teams comprising officials from the estate, planning and engineering wings will conduct the survey.An HSIIDC official told TOI, “They have been given six weeks to complete the exercise, with the first progress report to be submitted within five days of the order. The local management committee will review the progress every fortnight.”The teams have also been specifically instructed to take GPS-enabled photographs of violations and geo-tag site evidence, creating a property-wise record that can be used for subsequent enforcement. However, the HSIIDC order makes clear that the industrial exercise is presently a survey, not an immediate demolition drive.For the city’s industrial belt, therefore, the next phase could be more consequential than a routine inspection: the authorities are not merely looking for encroachments but are being asked to establish, plot by plot, whether what stands on the land is what was sanctioned, whether the land is being used for the approved purpose and whether any part of public or common land has been absorbed into private premises.The order does not put a number on suspected violators. Instead, it directs the teams to inspect all allotted properties/plots and land falling within the estate’s jurisdiction. The categories being examined include change/misuse of approved land use, zoning and building violations, excess coverage, encroachment on roads or rights of way, occupation of unallotted plots, unplanned pockets and public land beyond plot boundaries.This means the exercise potentially covers thousands of industrial properties. A govt district industrial profile (2026) had put the number of plots in the Udyog Vihar complex at 2,023, with 1,855 allotted and 1,249 units in production. A separate govt MSME profile had earlier counted 2,140 plots in Udyog Vihar Phases I-VI, Sector 18 and DIC, of which 2,068 were allotted.The industrial belt is also far more diverse than a conventional factory zone. Govt records describe Udyog Vihar as having units in IT/ITeS, garments and auto ancillaries, while industry association records have also listed software and IT companies alongside textiles and auto-component manufacturers. Sectors 34-35 have a broader industrial mix including auto components, engineering, footwear, IT/ITES, leather, metals and textiles.The survey is significant because building violations in Udyog Vihar are not a new issue. In an earlier HSIIDC assessment (2019) reported by TOI, 460 cases of Floor Area Ratio (FAR) violations, 247 cases of unauthorised leasing and 880 cases of non-compoundable zoning violations had been identified in the industrial area. The corporation had also considered changes in permissible FAR to reduce violations.A separate report had earlier highlighted the scale of construction violations, with industrialists alleging that many units had exceeded permissible ground coverage and FAR. The issue was particularly relevant to IT and garment-export units, whose space requirements had grown with employment.The latest action comes against the backdrop of Supreme Court’s wider intervention on unauthorised construction and land-use violations. In March, the court expanded its inquiry into widespread violations of building bylaws and land-use regulations, observing that buildings were often constructed without sanction or subsequently put to uses different from those approved.On Aug 4, Supreme Court specifically impleaded HSIIDC, along with Haryana’s department of town and country planning (DTCP) and MCM, in the proceedings. The court recorded Haryana’s assurance that orders concerning building-bylaw violations and demolition of unauthorised constructions would be taken to their logical conclusion within four weeks.The timing also comes as the city authorities have intensified action in residential areas. DTCP teams have recently demolished or sealed properties in South City-1 and Sushant Lok-1 over unauthorised construction, commercial use and misuse of stilt areas. Seventeen buildings were targeted in one recent operation.Once a violation is identified, the competent authority will initiate action under the prescribed procedure. Where necessary, show-cause notices will be issued, followed by an opportunity for the allottee or occupier to submit documents or objections before a final decision.Once a violation is identified, the competent authority will initiate action under the prescribed procedure. Where necessary, show-cause notices will be issued, followed by an opportunity for the allottee or occupier to submit documents or objections before a final decision.
