2 min readJul 13, 2026 09:14 AM IST
Unauthorised construction and encroachment on Delhi Development Authority (DDA) land will be demolished within 72 hours of detection under a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the agency for its Flying Squad Teams and Quick Response Teams (QRTs).
The SOP was issued days after Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu chaired a meeting of the DDA’s Advisory Council and directed a zero-tolerance approach towards encroachment across the Capital, according to the DDA.

Unauthorised construction has come under the spotlight after a recent collapse of a five-storey building near Saket Metro station in South Delhi’s Mehrauli that left six people dead, and a fire at a B&B facility in South Delhi’s Hauz Rani that claimed 23 lives.
As many as 14 Flying Squad Teams have been set up across DDA zones to carry out regular field inspections. These teams are tasked with identifying unauthorised construction and encroachment at an early stage, verifying land ownership and status, and documenting violations through geo-tagged, time-stamped photographs before submitting reports for enforcement action.
Four Quick Response Teams will undertake prompt demolition and removal operations immediately upon identification of violations and completion of the requisite legal procedures, wherever applicable, the DDA said. Their responsibilities include filing a demolition report with geo-tagged before-and-after photographs, videographing the exercise if required and installing a DDA ownership board at the site.
The SOP also allows the use of drone-based inspections and integration with Vacant Land Monitoring System (VLMS) to update land records, verify vacant plots after demolition and monitor sites to prevent re-encroachment, the DDA said. It added that ongoing unauthorised construction on private land within DDA Development Areas will also be demolished after due legal process.
The framework also assigns specific responsibilities to the DDA’s Land Management, Engineering and Horticulture departments, which the agency said are aimed at improving coordination and accountability among field officers.
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