CBC orders illegal auto workshops in DHA to move out in a week

The Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC) has issued notices for abolishing illegally operating auto workshops in the Defence Housing Authority’s (DHA) Phase-II Extension. The move comes after the residents of the neighbourhood filed a complaint with the board.

On December 12 the CBC wrote to the auto workshops operating in the area, asking them to remove the illegally parked vehicles in front of their shops because they create a traffic mess.

The CBC said that illegally running motor vehicle workshops, and parking vehicles on roads, streets and footpaths create traffic congestion and noise pollution in the area. The board termed all this encroachment of public spaces.

The letter said the workshops are involved in the business of denting and painting motor vehicles as well as carrying out electrical and mechanical work on various automobiles at 48-C, 13th Commercial Street.

The CBC said that these shops are making temporary encroachments on roads, streets, footpaths and sewerage lines, causing a perpetual nuisance, noise pollution and, above all, traffic congestion and health hazards for the residents and the passer-by.

The board said that this is a violation of Section 118 of the Cantonments Act, 1924. Chapter IX of the Act deals with ‘Public Safety and Suppression of Nuisances’. Section 118 under the chapter deals with ‘Penalty for causing nuisances’.

The CBC directed the owners of the auto workshops to move their workshops from the area within seven days, warning that failing to do so would result in strict legal action in the light of the prevailing rules, including but not limited to sealing of their properties.

Residents of the area have welcomed the action taken by the board. They said the workshops operating in their neighbourhood have encroached upon public spaces, largely compromising their movement in the area.

A resident told The News that those living around Phase-II Commercial Area are in extreme agony. He said that due to the presence of auto workshops, there is a lot of noise pollution in the locality.

“Until the shops are closed, there’s so much noise of mechanics denting and painting cars. Our lives have become miserable,” he said, adding that the locals have been demanding the CBC and the DHA to rid the neighbourhood of such shops as well as the encroachments due to them.

Scores of cars are parked in front of the shops, due to which traffic remains congested. He said that even water tankers find it hard to move in the area because of the auto workshops.

Another resident of the area demanded that the CBC stop the operation of the all auto workshops in the DHA’s Phase-II Commercial Area to end the miseries of the locals.