14 illegal shops razed, owners fined over Rs 2 crore

Ghaziabad: The district administration has demolished 14 illegal shops on municipal land near Jama Masjid in Modinagar and imposed a penalty of Rs 2.2 crore on the encroachers. Officials said notices had been issued to these shop owners, after which the structures were dismantled.

District magistrate Ravinder Kumar Mandar said the shops had been constructed on a road in Begumabad by the manager of the mosque, Mohammad Aarif. He had either sold them off to others or leased them out. “A case on this matter is ongoing. An order issued by the SDM on May 18 said all shops on this road were illegal. We announced the drive two days ago, and 11 shops were demolished by the owners themselves and three were demolished by us,” DM said.

At noon on Monday, a district administration team arrived at the site, accompanied by police, and launched the operation. Officials from Modinagar Municipal Council were present.

Modinagar Municipal Council had filed a case in the court of the sub-divisional magistrate. “In an order dated Nov 30, 2023, the court had directed eviction of the encroacher and the recovery of a penalty of Rs 2.23 crore. A subsequent application for restoration, filed against this order, was rejected by the court on April 28, 2025, and the original order was upheld,” the statement read.

Officials said illegal occupation of govt land will not be tolerated and warned that such action against encroachments will continue. “In the gazetted maps of the district, this land was shown as a road but it was illegally encroached upon by Mohammad Aarif,” sub-divisional magistrate of Modinagar Ajit Singh said. “The case was taken to court, and it was found that he had encroached upon the land. The action has been taken as per the court order.”

The estimated value of the land, based on circle rates, is Rs 2.75 crore, officials said.