In one of the most aggressive enforcement actions witnessed in recent years, the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTP) has successfully reclaimed 216 km of road length across Gurugram’s most elite neighbourhoods.The intensive five-day anti-encroachment campaign, which concluded on Thursday, targeted nearly 7,000 properties where illegal extensions—ranging from permanent boundary walls to private gardens—had effectively swallowed public thoroughfares and “right of way” (ROW) areas.As the dust settles on the demolition sites in areas like DLF Phases 1 and 2, Palam Vihar, and Sushant Lok, officials are now finalising a comprehensive interim report documenting the systematic recovery of government land to be submitted to the High Court.The drive, spearheaded by eight specialised enforcement teams, focused on removing unauthorised structures that narrowed arterial roads from their planned widths of 9 to 24m down to congested lanes. Heavy machinery was deployed to dismantle over 1,000 illegal house extensions, including guard rooms, staircases and reinforced concrete ramps.District Town Planner (Enforcement) Amit Madholia, who personally supervised the operations in high-violation zones, emphasised the scale of the recovery. “Our teams have worked tirelessly to clear 216 km of road that had been occupied by illegal structures for years. This action is part of a time-bound mandate to restore the city’s infrastructure. We will submit an interim report to the court providing specific details of the 7,000-plus properties identified and the specific encroachments cleared during this phase,” Madholia stated.While the drive met with pockets of resistance from some homeowners, a vast majority of Gurugram residents have hailed the initiative as a long-overdue restoration of urban order. In Palam Vihar, where the DTP cleared over 600 illegal fences and 650 ramps, the sentiment was particularly strong.Aarohi Gupta, a long-time resident of the Palam Vihar area, described the clearing as a “lifesaving” development for pedestrians. “This is a massive achievement for the administration. For years, these encroachments nearly cost people their lives. We were literally forced to walk in the middle of the road amidst heavy traffic because the footpaths and side-strips were blocked by private lawns and guard cabins. Reclaiming this space means children and senior citizens can finally walk safely again. These encroachments impacted common civic infrastructure like manholes and rainwater drains as well as leading to waterlogging,” Gupta said.With the first phase complete, the DTP has signalled that the crackdown is far from over. A monitoring committee is being established to ensure that the reclaimed 216 km doesn’t face “re-encroachment” by defiant property owners.The next driveFollowing the action by DTP, the Haryana Shahri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) is set to launch a parallel intensive crackdown across 25 sectors in Gurugram. According to an official memo dated April 23, Estate Officer-II has requested a Duty Magistrate and a police force of 100 personnel to reclaim road berms from illegal occupation. The drive will be conducted in phases between April 27 and May 8 covering the following sectors: 27, 43, 31-32a, 24-25a, 30, 39, 45, 28, 42, 51, 57, 49, 50, 38, 46, 40, 41, 52, 47, 55, 56, 52A-53, 54, 29, 32, and 44.