Taking serious note of the rampant unauthorised construction in south Delhi’s Sainik Farms area, the Delhi high court on Wednesday asked the CBI if it could probe the issue.

A division bench of Justice BD Ahmed and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said the unauthorised construction was carried out right under the nose of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) and Delhi Police despite a ban on any unauthorised construction in Sainik Farms since 2001.

“The officials of SDMC and Delhi Police have nothing to show apart from a few prosecution and some demolition on a pick and choose manner. Before we take further steps in this aspect, we call the standing counsel for the CBI to take their input (if the matter could be probed by it) on the next date of hearing,” the bench said, posting the matter for 15 May.

In February, the bench ordered a preliminary CBI enquiry into unauthorized construction in some south Delhi areas.

The bench was irked that despite a large number of illegal constructions, the SDMC had nothing to show apart from a few civic officials who were prosecuted and some “demolition action on pick-and-choose manner”.

It said that even the SDMC admitted that there were about 700 properties that have come up illegally in the area after 2007.

The court said: “Despite clear directions given by a division bench of this court, rampant unauthorized construction is going on unabated. The division bench had clearly directed that no trucks carrying construction materials will enter Sainik Farms area and for this the Commissioner MCD and (police) were to deploy officials... Yet building continued without any legal sanction.”

The bench directed the SDMC and Delhi Police to submit a list of officers who were deputed in Sainik Farms after January 2001.

The dispute over the legality of the predominantly affluent area is a long-running one, with the Delhi government having made moves to legalise several unauthorised areas such as Sainik Farms.