Punjab and Haryana high court vacates stay on Sector 56 plots, owners can now build houses

GURUGRAM: In a relief to over 100 owners who had purchased plots from the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikarn (HSVP) in Sector 56 over a decade ago, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has vacated the stay on the land after a year. They can now build houses on their plots.
“The high court has passed the order in favour of HSVP. It comes as a relief to many owners, who can now proceed with construction after getting the requisite approval from the department,” said HSVP estate officer-2 Vivek Kalia.
HSVP, earlier known as HUDA, acquired land in 2003 and launched Sector 56, the last sector it developed in the city. Around 113 people were allotted plots of sizes ranging from 10 marla to 1 kanal in 2005. As many as 25 plot holders got building plans approved for construct of houses, four of which completed construction.
In 2018, a landowner whose land was acquired for the development of the sector filed a petition before the high court demanding fair compensation. In July last year, the high court directed that status quo be maintained, following which HSVP stopped approving building plans and occupation certificates in the sector.
A few plot owners filed a petition challenging this order. In an affidavit, HSVP claimed that third-party rights have been created in favour of several parties based on which houses were built on the plot. In some cases, buildings were ready and occupancy certificates were withheld only because of the status quo order, it said.
A bench of justices SN Satyanarayana and Archana Puri in an order on Wednesday observed that in view of the facts, the order issued earlier can’t be continued to the detriment of several plot holders, and vacated the stay.