GURGAON: Residents of Malibu Towne on Sunday hit the streets against the blanket ban on the registration of properties in the township and sought CM’s intervention in lifting the ban. This comes after the closure order issued by Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) in December last year.
The residents have submitted a memorandum, addressing the chief minister, to SDM Ravinder Yadav seeking his intervention to limit the operation of HSPCB’s order against the developer only. The ban should be lifted on sale deed of properties, which have been bought and owned by the residents.
The HSPCB has issued a closure notice to the developer for its alleged violation of environmental norms during the construction of the township, following a complaint filed with the NGT by an RTI activist and resident of the colony, Raman Sharma.
Closure order has adversely impacted the residents, especially those who are in the middle of sale and purchase of properties. “The sale agreement was signed on December 10 and on December 23 they imposed the ban on registry. I only came to know about the ban in January when we went for registration. I have already vacated my flat. The transaction has not been completed and as a result I am living in a rented accommodation,” said KK Grover, a resident.
Vijay Shiv Nath, president of Malibu Towne RWA said, “The closure notice is affecting other development works which were supposed to be undertaken by the MCG and other departments. HSPCB’s order should have been directed towards the developer for any discrepancies, be it environmental clearance or effluent discharge. Why penalise the residents, who have already paid their dues?”
Developed in 1992-93, the township is spread across 204 acres in sector 47 and 51. At present, there are 2,500 families living in the township.
When contacted, sub-divisional magistrate Ravinder Yadav said, “I have received the memorandum submitted by the residents and all their demands will be put forth to the government for consideration.”
Meanwhile, the representative of the developer said they are going to challenge the closure order. “All the allegations have not yet been proven, still the pollution board issued the closure order. They have taken the water sample on the frivolous complaint of a resident and we have been repeatedly requesting the pollution board to take another water sample but they did not collect till date. We have only made the party in the NGT recently and we are going to challenge the order,” the official said.