Nainital, Apr 2 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday put a stay on illegal constructions in Dehradun and Rishikesh, and directed Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey to appear before it through video conferencing on May 5 to explain how the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority is compounding the constructions being done in violation of the sanctioned maps in the two towns.

A division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Alok Mahra asked as to how the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MMDA) is compounding the constructions, which are being done in violation of the sanctioned maps.

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The high court asked the commissioner to appear before it on May 5 to explain the situation.

Pankaj Agarwal, a resident of Rishikesh, and others had filed a public interest litigation before the high court claiming that many constructions are being done in Dehradun and Rishikesh in violation of the sanctioned maps.

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It was said in the petition that while the MDDA has been taking action by sealing the said constructions, but the MDDA assistant engineer would remove the sealing and compound the constructions after sometime.

The petitioners approached the court, saying that illegal constructions should be stopped in order to save the environment.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)