Repeated court stays stall encroachment drives in city

Jaipur: Repeated court interventions are stalling Jaipur Development Authority’s (JDA) efforts to remove encroachments and restore roads to Master Plan widths, with fresh stays frequently halting action mid-way.The latest setback came Friday when residents along the 200-Feet Bypass to Kanakpura stretch of Sirsi Road secured a Supreme Court stay, stopping JDA’s seventh anti-encroachment drive in the past year.“This has turned out to be a major concern for Jaipur residents for the last one year. A lawyer would file a writ petition or PIL at the high court. The court will ask the JDA to clear the encroachment. While JDA would start the process to remove encroachments, locals would go to a higher bench and obtain stays,” alleged Sirsi Road resident Sumit Chawla.Officials said the recurring legal hurdles point to deeper planning inconsistencies. A senior JDA official said, “The problem is the town planners and zonal deputy commissioners change the width of road according to their free will. Accordingly, the JDA issues the building plans mentioning the changed width of the road. Now, when matter goes to court, the court delivers order to restore the stretch as per the master plan. In most cases ‘legal residents’ turn out to be ‘encroachers’.”The dispute has persisted on Sirsi Road since last year, when JDA began demolishing 274 identified encroachments to widen the stretch to 160 feet. While most structures were removed, the project remains incomplete.“A few of the encroachers managed to obtain stays from the court. We will not be able to make the road wide until and unless these encroachments are removed,” a JDA engineer said.Similar legal deadlocks have emerged on Gandhi Path, Vaishali Marg, Amrapali Marg and Queen’s Road, where eviction notices were later stayed by the Supreme Court. In another case, a high court order on the Haldighati Circle–Airport Road link was later recalled by a division bench, further delaying action.FOR GFX, IF NEEDEDHIT & MISSES*In April 2025, JDA removed most of the 274 encroachments from Jharkhand Mod to the 200-ft Bypass on Sirsi Road*Around 80 residents managed to obtain stay, halting the entire process of road widening*In Nov 2025, JDA started issuing eviction notices to residents of Gandhi Path, Vaishali Marg, Amrapali Marg, and Queens Road to make these roads 100 ft wide*In Dec 2025, residents managed to obtain a stay from the Supreme Court*Meanwhile, a JDA enforcement wing inspector was suspended for issuing an eviction notice against a Shiva temple*In Oct 2025, the high court ordered JDA to make the road connecting Airport Road and Haldighati Circle 100 ft wide*As JDA was about to issue eviction notices, in April 2026, a division bench comprising the acting Chief Justice recalled the order*In March 2026, the high Ccurt directed JDA to remove encroachments from the 200ft Bypass to Kanakpura stretch of Sirsi Road*On May 17, residents again managed to obtain a stay from the Supreme Court