Panchkula, Nov. 19 -- The Panchkula Metropolitan Development Authority (PMDA) on Tuesday demolished an illegal structure, constructed on nine marlas at Nau Gaza Peer, one of the oldest shrines in Panchkula, located on the Sectors 5 and 7 dividing road. The encroached nine-marla land originally belonged to Haryana Urban Development Authority (now Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran) before being transferred to PMDA. In court hearings earlier this year, the shrine caretaker's counsel argued the structure was over 200 years old and presented jamabandi records from 1966-67 and 2021-22 to prove that the land belonged to them. The HSVP, however, stated that only six marlas were officially reserved for Nau Gaza Peer, and the remainingarea amounted to illegal occupation. Caretaker Firoz Khan had been first served a show-cause notice on July 8. Subsequently, PMDA issued a formal notice on November 11, directing the vacation and removal of the unauthorised structure within two days. The team proceeded with the demolition on Tuesday after the structure was not removed voluntarily. District town planner (PMDA) Sanjay Narang said the major challenge was protecting the original six-marla religious structure while removing the unauthorised extension. Cutters and grinders were used to safely dismantle slabs and lintel roads without damaging the remaining dargah and langar hall. The administrative authority confirmed that no stay was granted by the civil court to the caretaker, who had moved court challenging the July notice. Co-owner Monu Khan reported that a major portion, including his shop and rooms, was demolished, with only the dargah and langar hall remaining on the six marla land. The demolition drive started around 9 am and continued till 6 pm. With this, DTP Narang said, only two major illegal religious structures under PMDA's jurisdiction are now left in Panchkula. These include Sultan Mohammad Khan Ji Dargah in Devi Nagar, Sector-3, and Johar Veer Goga Temple in Sector 21. Both structures, which have encroached upon green belt areas (land belonging to PMDA and NHAI), were issued similar notices in July. The Johar Veer Goga Temple has encroached on the maximum green belt land of NHAI, which has also requested its agency to remove the encroachment. The Sultan Mohammad Khan Ji Dargah mainly occupies PMDA land, with some area belonging to NHAI, where a sitting area and hall under a shed were illegally constructed adjacent to the dargah. The caretakers of both structures had moved to court seeking regularisation. An administrative officer noted that despite a regularisation policy being framed in 2010 following a 2009 Supreme Court order, these structures did not fall under it....