New Delhi: The Rampur Development Authority on Wednesday (July 15) issued an order to demolish 38 of the 40 buildings at the Mohammad Ali Jauhar University campus, citing their illegal construction.
RDA said that the buildings in question had been constructed without due approvals from the competent authority.
Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former UP minister Azam Khan’s Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust is responsible for the upkeep of the university. The party said the RDA’s move was unjustified and that the university was being selectively targeted, the Indian Express reported.
RDA has given the university 15 days to remove the unauthorised buildings else they will be demolished, the RDA said.
What has the RDA said?
RDA vice-chairperson and Rampur District Magistrate Ajay Kumar Dwivedi issued the order under Section 27 of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973. According to officials, the decision followed hearings, scrutiny of records and a report submitted by the regional junior engineer.
Officials said only the university’s medical college building and one academic block had approved building plans. They stated that the remaining 38 buildings, spread across a built-up area of 82,309 square metres, had been constructed without the required permission.
The authority also held that the buildings stand on land where their present use is not permitted under applicable land-use regulations. It said the violations could not be regularised under the law and that demolition was the only legal course available.
The district magistrate has asked the authorities to ensure that demolition proceedings do not affect the students’ education, the paper reported, adding that the district inspector of schools has been asked to set up counselling camps to provide assistance to affected students.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
