HC extends stay on demolition of pvt properties for road widening in Haldwani

Dehradun: Uttarakhand high court on Monday extended its interim stay on the demolition of private properties in Haldwani, where authorities have launched a road-widening and urban beautification drive. Hearing a batch of petitions, a division bench of Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay fixed June 4 as the next date of hearing.The petitioners, including Hotel Ok and Hotel Happy Home, submitted that road-widening work was underway on the stretch between Mangal Padav and the Haldwani roadways bus station. They alleged that demolition notices were issued to owners of private properties with little notice, in violation of prescribed procedures.According to the petitions, the affected parties have been running their businesses at these locations for years. They contended that the municipal corporation and district administration were evicting them under the guise of removing encroachments without giving them an adequate opportunity to be heard. They sought directions restraining the authorities from evicting them without due process.The municipal corporation, however, maintained that notices had been served to the alleged encroachers and that action was taken only after hearing their submissions. The administration and the corporation added that walls and residential structures built on govt land were being removed as part of the road-widening project.