Over 200 illegal guest houses running in Gurugram

GURUGRAM: Guest houses that are not registered with civic authorities continue to be a major problem in the Millennium City.

With a large number of visitors frequenting Gurugram daily, a large number of guest houses and paying guest accomodations have come up over the years.

A reply to an RTI query last month revealed that there are more than two hundred guest houses that are operating illegally in the city.

There are supposed to be many more guest houses that are believed to be functioning illegally, as the list of illegal guest houses mentioned in the RTI were only in areas under the jurisdiction of Haryana Urban Development Authority.

With Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) not having mentioned the number of illegal guest houses functioning in its areas, the number is only expected to increase significantly more than what it is in the RTI reply.

Over the years, owners have forgone registration of their guest houses, in order to avoid paying property tax.

This, however, has led to illegal guest houses becoming a hub for carrying out criminal activities.

Most of the arrests in sex racket cases, which have been unravelled by Gurugram Police, have been made from such guest houses.

In addition to the sex rack- ets running from such establishments, there have also been also arrests in drug cases from such guest houses.

While activists blame the lackadaisical attitude of the public authorities towards curbing illegal guest houses, officials at major public agencies have stated that action is being taken against such illegal guest houses.

“MCG has recently started a drive for collection of property tax arrears. Facing a huge deficit, around three months back, the municipal body adopted the 'carrot and stick' policy wherein we have offered a 25 percent discount on the property tax.

"For the defaulters, however, we are taking stringent measures and sealing their properties. The following measures taken by the authorities will result in most of the guest houses registering themselves with us,” said a senior MCG official.

Speaking on the major criminal activities that have been busted in the illegal guest houses, a senior police official from Gurugram Police said, “In the past there have been some drug cartels that have been nabbed from these illegal guest houses."

"However, in the recent past, teams of Gurugram Police have busted a large number of sex rackets in such guest houses. The Gurugram Police, along with the other public agencies, will continue to take action against illegal guest houses, that encourage criminal activities,” the police official added.

Many such accommodations are serving as hubs of illegal activities in the Millennium City