Encroachments on 2,280-km roads cleared in Delhi, SC told

The Supreme Court was told that authorities had removed encroachments from around 2,280-km road length by August 31, prompting the court to observe that it was a matter of "great distress" vis-a-vis encroachments.

A bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta said that encroachment was a serious problem and asked the authorities to take the matter seriously while hearing a plea on encroachments in Delhi.

Encroachments were cleared from 844.33-km roads/streets/footpaths falling in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) area, 811.01 km in South MC, 601.2 km in East MC, 11 km in the New Delhi Municipal Council and 12.44 km in Delhi Development Authority (DDA) jurisdiction.

The top court is dealing with the issue of the validity of the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006, and subsequent legislation which protects unauthorized constructions from sealing.

The bench said clearing encroachments from such a large area reflected the magnitude of the problem.