Portions of an illegally constructed five-storey building in South Delhi where Aam Aadmi Party MLA Dinesh Mohaniya lives were demolished by the civic body on Monday.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation carried out the demolition following a High Court order to act against unauthorised construction at B-14, Shiv Park, Khanpur. The court had asked the civic body what action it had taken after a writ petition was filed by an NGO called Anti-Corruption Forum.
Though who owns the house is still unclear, the MLA from Sangam Vihar had given the same address in the affidavits he filed for the 2013 and 2015 Assembly polls.
The fourth and fifth floors of the propertyhad come up without a sanction plan in the past two months, said a senior SDMC official.
“We could not use JCB as the lanes are very narrow and the houses are tightly packed as it is an unauthorised regularised colony. We employed about 25 labourers to carry out the demolition manually and the top two floors were rendered uninhabitable,” said the official
The civic body had issued notices to the “owner/occupier” and conducted a joint inspection with the police before carrying out the demolition.
The SDMC will be giving its report to the High Court on Tuesday. Officials said the other floors may be demolished at a later stage.
Meanwhile, repeated attempts to reach Mr. Mohaniya failed. An associate who answered his phone said Mr. Mohaniya was not the owner of the property. He added that the Mohaniyas had been living in the house since 1984 and had proof of paying property tax since 1991.
The AAP, which rose to power on an anti-corruption platform, remained mum on the matter. Party spokesperson Deepak Bajpai said he was out of town. Two other spokespersons, Dilp Pandey and Ashutosh, did not respond to requests for comment.
An AAP source said Mr. Mohaniya was asked about the matter and his explanation was considered sufficient. “He said it was his father’s house,” said the source.
This development comes at a time that the AAP government and the BJP-led corporations are locked in a battle over funding of civic bodies. Officials said they would be conducting a survey of adjoining colonies to look for illegal construction.