💝The Gorakhpur Development Authority (GDA) has issued a 15-day ultimatum to the trustees of a mosque to voluntarily pull down the three-storey structure, saying it was "constructed illegally" here on municipal land, officials said on Wednesday.
🥂Challenging the GDA's order, the mosque's trustee has approached the commissioner’s court. The court is yet to respond on the matter.
🉐According to the February 15 notice issued to Shoaib Ahmad, the son of the mosque's trustee, the structure has been built without an approved map and must be dismantled within the stipulated period.
🤡If they miss the deadline, the GDA will bulldoze the mosque near Ghosh Company Chauraha and recover demolition costs, officials said.
💝GDA Vice Chairman Anand Vardhan said despite repeated notices, no valid documents have been shared.
🅰As per the GDA's inspection in 2024, two floors of the mosque had already been constructed, with shuttering work underway for the third.
🍬Officials said despite multiple notices, the builder failed to present an approved map for the structure and that the land has been under encroachment for the past 50 years.
🦩In January 2024, the municipal corporation removed 12 residential units and 31 commercial establishments from the area.
ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚAlthough the mosque's ground floor was partially demolished at the time, it faced resistance from the mosque's trustees and locals.
❀Subsequently, the municipal board sanctioned a 60-square-meter plot near the mosque for reconstruction work.
🌺Ahmad, speaking to reporters, said the municipal board has already sanctioned land for the mosque, adding that structures under 60 square metres do not require an approved map.
