Demolition notice of Sector 53 Furniture Market, Chandigarh: Land Acquisition Department directs Shopkeepers to vacate by June 28

On June 22, 2024 (Saturday), the Land Acquisition Department of the Chandigarh administration issued a notice to the shopkeepers at Sector 53 furniture market directing them to demolish their shops and vacate the government property within a week, June 28, 2024. The department also said that any destruction of materials or goods caused during the demolition will be covered by the shopkeepers and the department will not be liable for the same. 

The notice issued by the Land Acquisition Department said, “The land was actually acquired by the Chandigarh administration in 2002 and is part of village Badheri. Though the shopkeepers have moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court for a stay on vacating the land, the court had in Septemeber 2023 disposed of all petitions filed by the alleged lessees of the land. Also, the UT administration had given compensation to the landowners, and the shop owners are illegal possessors of the government land. As per the Land Acquisition Act, the shopkeepers are directed to demolish/remove the illegal structure from the government land at their own level and restore the land without any encumbrance by June 28, failing which the shops will be demolished by the department. The expenses of removal/demolition will be recovered from the shopkeepers and legal action as per law will also be initiated against them.” 

The Furniture market, set up illegally on government land, came up around 37 years ago. Since then, approximately 120 shops have been set up in the market. As the market is illegal, there is no fire-safety measure imposed by the municipal corporation which resulted in multiple fire mishaps. In the notice, the administration also emphasized the need for corrective action to restore legality and proper ownership because all shops had been operating on government land that had been encroached upon.