How to Raise a Complaint Against Illegal Construction or Encroachment (2026 Guide)

Any Indian citizen can file a complaint against illegal construction or encroachment (अवैध निर्माण की शिकायत) with their local municipal corporation, development authority, or via CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in. There is no fee. Filing takes 10–15 minutes online. Authorities are expected to respond within 30 days. If ignored, RTI escalation is available.

Table of Contents

1. What Counts as Illegal Construction or Encroachment?
2. Who Can File — and Against Whom?
3. Evidence to Collect Before You File
4. Which Authority to Approach — and Why It Matters
5. How to File Online via CPGRAMS (Step-by-Step)
6. State-Wise Apps and Portals
7. The Offline Route — When to Walk Into an Office
8. Tracking Your Complaint
9. What Happens After You File — and What to Do If Nothing Does
10. Mistakes That Slow Down Your Complaint (and How to Avoid Them)
11. FAQ
12. Official Helplines

What Counts as Illegal Construction or Encroachment? {#section1}

Illegal construction (अवैध निर्माण) is any building activity that happens without valid approval from the local municipal authority or development authority. This includes:

• Building a floor, room, or extension not shown in the sanctioned plan
• Constructing on public land — roads, parks, drains, footpaths, government plots
• Converting residential premises to commercial use without change-of-use permission
• Starting any construction without a Commencement Certificate

Encroachment is a related but distinct category. It means occupying or using land that belongs to someone else — usually the government, a municipal body, or a neighbor — without legal right. A stall permanently fixed on a footpath, a compound wall built 3 feet into the public road margin, a shed erected over a municipal drain: all of these are encroachments.

The distinction matters because the authority you approach changes depending on which of these you’re dealing with — more on that in a moment.

Who Can File — and Against Whom? {#section2}

Any Indian citizen can file. You do not need to own property near the site. You do not need to be personally affected. A complaint from a concerned resident, a neighbouring flat owner, a tenant, or even someone who simply observed the violation is legally valid.

You can file against:

• Private individuals constructing without permission
• Housing society members adding unauthorized structures in common areas
• Builders deviating from sanctioned plans (also reportable to RERA for registered projects)
• Shopkeepers extending onto footpaths
• Anyone occupying government or municipal land

Evidence to Collect Before You File {#section3}

A complaint with no supporting evidence is almost always deprioritized. Authorities receive hundreds of complaints weekly — yours needs to be specific, provable, and ready to act on.

Mandatory:

• Photographs or video of the construction or encroachment, with timestamps. Take at least 5–6 photos from different angles showing the exact location and nature of the violation. Video is even more useful.
• Exact address — door/flat number, street name, ward number, and nearest landmark. Vague addresses like “the blue house near the temple” will cause the complaint to be returned.
• Your contact details — name, phone number, and a working email address. Many portals send complaint status updates via SMS and email.

Strongly Recommended (speeds up action significantly):

• Survey number or plot number of the site, if available. You can get this from your local municipal office or land records portal.
• Note down the approximate date when the construction started.
• If possible, a satellite/map screenshot showing the site location (Google Maps works for this).

One thing many guides skip: if the encroachment is on government land, try to confirm the ownership first. Check your state’s land records portal (e.g., bhulekh.up.gov.in for UP, mahabhumi.gov.in for Maharashtra, bhoomi.karnataka.gov.in for Karnataka) or file a quick RTI with the local revenue office asking for the land classification of that survey number. This turns your complaint into a much stronger, evidence-backed document.

Which Authority to Approach — and Why It Matters {#section4}

This is where most people go wrong. They file with the wrong office and then wonder why nothing happened.

Municipal Corporation (Nagar Nigam / Nagar Palika): Your first stop for construction without permission, building plan violations, illegal floors, and unauthorized commercial use in urban areas. The jurisdiction depends on your city — MCD in Delhi, BMC in Mumbai, BBMP in Bangalore, GHMC in Hyderabad, GCC in Chennai, PMC in Pune.

Development Authority (DDA / BDA / CMDA / HUDA): If the land is under the jurisdiction of a development authority rather than a municipal corporation — DDA flats in Delhi, BDA layouts in Bangalore, CMDA areas in Chennai — your complaint goes here, not to the municipal corporation.

Revenue Department / Tehsildar: Encroachment on agricultural land or government revenue land (sarkari zameen) goes to the tehsildar or district collector’s office. Municipal bodies generally don’t have jurisdiction over revenue land.

Police (Dial 112): If construction or encroachment is happening right now and someone is obstructing you, threatening you, or blocking access to your property — call the police first. Under Section 133 CrPC (now Section 163 BNSS), police can issue a conditional order directing removal of a public nuisance, which includes dangerous structures.

RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority): If a registered builder is deviating from the sanctioned plan of a project you’ve bought into, RERA is more effective than the municipal corporation. Each state has a RERA portal — check rera.gov.in for the national directory and your state’s RERA for the complaint portal.

Priya from Pune discovered her builder had added an unauthorized floor to the residential building she’d booked a flat in. She initially went to the Pune Municipal Corporation. They told her the building is RERA-registered and the complaint should go to Maharashtra RERA (maharera.mahaonline.gov.in). She re-filed there. Maharashtra RERA issued a notice to the builder within 21 days.

How to File Online via CPGRAMS (Step-by-Step) {#section5}

CPGRAMS (Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System) at pgportal.gov.in is the central government’s grievance portal. It connects to all ministries, state governments, and local bodies. If you are dealing with a central government agency — DDA, Army cantonment encroachment, encroachment on railway land — file here directly. For state municipal bodies, CPGRAMS is best used as an escalation channel if your state portal fails or your complaint is ignored.

That said, it works for both, and the process is the same.

Step 1: Go to https://pgportal.gov.in Click “Lodge Public Grievance” on the homepage. If you don’t have an account, click “Register” — you’ll need your mobile number and email address. OTP verification is required. [Screenshot: Homepage with a large orange “Lodge Public Grievance” button in the center]

Step 2: After logging in, click “Lodge Grievance” in the left sidebar. You’ll see a 3-step form beginning with Terms and Conditions. Read and click “Submit.”

Step 3: Select the Ministry/Department. For municipal encroachment in urban areas, select “Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.” For revenue land or agricultural land encroachment, select your State Government from the dropdown — it will route to the relevant state department. ⚠️ Common mistake: Selecting “Department of Administrative Reforms” — that’s the CPGRAMS management department itself, not the department that can act on your complaint.

Step 4: Fill in the Grievance Description. Write this in plain, factual language. Include: nature of the violation, exact address, approximate start date, and what you want the authority to do. A good structure: “Unauthorized construction of an additional floor is being carried out at [full address] without approved plan. Construction started approximately [month/year]. Request inspection and action under [your state’s Municipal Corporation Act].” The description field accepts up to 4,000 characters. Keep it under 500. Long descriptions often bury the key facts.

Step 5: Upload your evidence. Maximum file size: 2MB per upload. Accepted formats: PDF, JPG, PNG. If you have multiple photos, combine them into a single PDF using tools like ilovepdf.com before uploading — the portal doesn’t support multiple file attachments in most browsers. [Screenshot: You’ll see a “Choose File” button below the description field. On mobile, this sometimes appears hidden — scroll down or rotate to landscape mode.]

Step 6: Submit and note your Reference Number. After clicking “Submit Grievance,” you’ll receive a unique reference number in the format HOUAW/2026/0XXXXX or similar (varies by ministry). Screenshot this or write it down. An SMS confirmation is also sent to your registered mobile number.

This process was last verified on the CPGRAMS portal in March 2026. The interface has not changed significantly since mid-2024 — but always confirm at pgportal.gov.in before applying.

State-Wise Apps and Portals {#section6}

For most urban areas, your state’s or city’s own portal will get faster results than CPGRAMS — because the complaint goes directly to the municipal enforcement wing without routing through Delhi.

For states not listed here, the process is nearly always the same: find your Nagar Nigam or Nagar Palika’s official website (search: “[your city] nagar nigam complaint”), navigate to the grievance section, and file there. If the website is broken or outdated (which happens more than you’d expect in smaller cities), go offline — more on that below.

The Sahaaya app in Bangalore is genuinely one of the better-built complaint systems — it assigns complaints to specific ward officers and the status updates are more reliable than many other cities. From experience, complaints on Sahaaya with a geo-tagged photo attached tend to see a field inspection within 7–10 working days.

The Offline Route — When to Walk Into an Office {#section7}

Go in person if: the online portal for your area is broken, if construction is rapidly progressing and you need urgent action, or if digital evidence is insufficient and you want to hand-deliver a formal written complaint with attachments.

Where to go:

• For municipal construction violations: the Ward Office or Zonal Office of your municipal corporation. Ask specifically for the Building Inspector or Town Planning Department — not the general reception desk.
• For revenue land encroachment: the Tehsil Office (tehsildar’s office) in your area.
• For police action (urgent, active encroachment with threats): your local Police Station, with a written complaint addressed to the Station House Officer (SHO).

What to carry:

• Printed complaint letter (two copies — one for them, one stamped as acknowledgment for you)
• Printed photographs of the violation
• Your Aadhaar card or any government ID
• Any supporting documents: title deed if it’s your property being encroached upon, or land record printout if it’s government land

Always ask for a written acknowledgment. This is your proof that the complaint was received. In many municipal offices, they’ll give you a stamped acknowledgment slip with a complaint number. If they refuse, ask the official’s name, note the date and time, and send a follow-up email to the office.

Suresh from Nagpur filed a verbal complaint at his Nagar Nigam office about a neighbor’s construction that was encroaching on the shared access lane. No written complaint, no receipt. Three months later, the construction was complete and the authority claimed no complaint was on record. He had to start over. Always get the receipt (पावती).

Tracking Your Complaint {#section8}

CPGRAMS: Go to pgportal.gov.in → Click “Track Grievance” on the homepage → Enter your Reference Number and registered mobile/email. Status meanings:

• “Forwarded to Ministry/Department”: Your complaint has been routed to the concerned authority. Normal routing takes 1–2 working days.
• “Under Process”: The receiving department has acknowledged it and it’s being reviewed.
• “Disposed”: The authority has issued a reply. Open the grievance to read their response — this is not necessarily the same as “resolved.”
• “Closed”: Closed by the authority. If you disagree with the resolution, you have the option to file an appeal directly on the portal within 30 days of closure.

For state apps (MCD 311, Sahaaya, etc.): Tracking works via the complaint ID shown at submission. Open the app → “My Complaints” or “Track Complaint” → Enter ID or login to see your complaint history.

What Happens After You File — and What to Do If Nothing Does {#section9}

When your complaint is received by the municipal authority, the typical sequence is: field inspection → notice to the builder/encroacher → a reply period → demolition or regularization order if violations are confirmed.

Realistically, this can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months. Political influence, overburdened inspectors, and sometimes deliberate delays are real factors. Here’s the escalation path if you hit a wall:

Step 1 — RTI (after 30 days of no action): File an RTI application to the municipal commissioner’s office asking: “Please provide an Action Taken Report on complaint reference no. [your number] filed on [date] regarding illegal construction at [address].” RTI response is legally due within 30 days under the Right to Information Act, 2005. Filing is free for BPL card holders; ₹10 fee for others (as per Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005). File at rtionline.gov.in for central bodies or your state RTI portal for state departments.

Step 2 — CPGRAMS escalation: If your complaint was filed on a state portal and is unresolved, escalate to CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in, specifically addressed to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs or your State Government entry.

Step 3 — Lokayukta / Lok Adalat: If municipal inaction is due to corruption or deliberate negligence, the Lokayukta (State Ombudsman) is an effective escalation. Most states have an online Lokayukta complaint portal.

Step 4 — High Court Writ (Article 226): For serious violations, especially ones posing structural danger, a writ petition in the High Court seeking a Mandamus order (directing the authority to act) is a legitimate and often fast option. This requires a lawyer.

What most articles don’t tell you: the RTI is your real leverage. When a municipal officer receives an RTI asking specifically about action on your complaint — by name and reference number — it creates a documented paper trail. Officers who ignore complaint portals regularly cannot ignore RTIs in the same way, because an unsatisfactory RTI response itself can be appealed to the State Information Commission.

Mistakes That Slow Down Your Complaint (and How to Avoid Them) {#section10}

❌ Filing with the wrong authority (e.g., approaching MCD for DDA land) ✅ Identify who owns the land first — municipality or development authority or revenue department. This one step prevents weeks of misdirection.

❌ Complaint description is vague: “There is illegal construction near my house” ✅ Include: full address, nature of violation, which law/bye-law appears violated (optional but helpful), what you want done. Specific complaints get specific action.

❌ Uploading a 5MB photo when the portal only accepts 2MB ✅ Compress photos before uploading. On Android, use “Resize Image” apps. On iPhone, use iCloud Photo’s “optimize storage” export. On desktop, ilovepdf.com compresses image-PDFs quickly.

❌ Mobile browser issues — file upload button doesn’t appear on some Android browsers ✅ CPGRAMS works better on Chrome for Android than on default browsers. If the file upload isn’t showing, switch to Chrome, clear cache, and reload.

❌ No written acknowledgment obtained after offline complaint ✅ Always ask for a stamped parvati (पावती) at the counter. If a counter clerk refuses, note their name and escalate to the ward officer immediately.

❌ Filing a complaint but then never following up ✅ Set a calendar reminder for 30 days after filing. If no update, immediately file an RTI. Complaint portals get many submissions; the squeaky wheel genuinely gets more attention in the Indian municipal system.

❌ Submitting only one photograph ✅ 5–6 timestamped photos from different angles, clearly showing the nature and location of the violation, make a measurably stronger complaint. Authorities are more likely to prioritize complaints with clear evidence.

FAQ {#section11}

Is there any fee to file an illegal construction complaint?

No. Filing complaints on CPGRAMS, MCD 311, BBMP Sahaaya, or any municipal portal is completely free. Authorities cannot charge any fee for receiving a complaint against illegal construction or encroachment.

Complaint file karne ke baad kitne din mein action hota hai?

There is no single legally mandated deadline specific to illegal construction complaints. In practice, municipal authorities are expected to act within 30–60 days of receiving a complaint. If no action occurs within 30 days, file an RTI asking for the Action Taken Report.

Can I file an anonymous complaint?

Some portals like CPGRAMS technically allow anonymous complaints, but anonymous complaints are often deprioritized or rejected, as authorities need a contact point for follow-up inspections. Providing your name and phone number significantly improves chances of action.

What if my neighbour threatens me after I file a complaint?

File a separate complaint with the local police station under Sections 503/506 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, for criminal intimidation. Document the threats with screenshots (if WhatsApp threats) or written records.

Can I file a complaint from my phone without downloading any app?

Yes. CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in is fully functional on mobile browsers (use Chrome). You can file, track, and appeal entirely from your phone without downloading any app.

The construction is on private property — not government land. Can I still complain?

Yes. If the construction violates approved building plans or municipal bye-laws — extra floors, building too close to the boundary, blocking light and air, encroaching into a shared setback — you can complain to the municipal corporation regardless of whether the land is private or government-owned.

What is the role of RERA in illegal construction complaints?

RERA handles complaints against registered developers who deviate from approved plans of residential or commercial projects. If a builder changes a project’s layout or adds floors without consent, file at your state’s RERA portal. RERA does not handle neighbor-versus-neighbor or individual plot construction complaints.

The municipal authority inspected but took no action — what next?

First, obtain a copy of the inspection report via RTI. Then escalate to the Zonal Deputy Commissioner or Municipal Commissioner in writing, attaching the complaint reference number and inspection report. If still unresolved, approach the State Lokayukta or file a writ petition in the High Court.

My complaint was marked “Disposed” on CPGRAMS but nothing changed on the ground.

“Disposed” means the authority filed a response, not that the problem was fixed. Read their response carefully. If unsatisfactory, file an appeal directly on pgportal.gov.in within 30 days of disposal. The appeal goes to the Nodal Appellate Authority at DARPG.

Official Helplines & Grievance Contacts {#section12}

Getting action on illegal construction complaints in India requires two things: filing correctly the first time, and following up systematically. The first complaint gets the file opened. The RTI gets it moved. Most people do one and skip the other — then conclude “the system doesn’t work.” It works slowly, and it responds to documented persistence more than to frustration.

Author Bio Box

Chinnagounder Thiruvenkatam — Editor at Tips Clear Expertise: Indian government digital services, RTI, consumer rights, transport & identity portals, municipal grievance systems Our team personally tests each portal process before publishing and updates guides when interfaces or rules change. This content is educational and not personalized legal, financial, or medical advice. Always verify the latest process on the official government portal before applying.

Read More:

• How to File an RTI Application Online in India (Step-by-Step Guide)
• How to File a Complaint on CPGRAMS: Central Government Grievance Portal Guide
• RERA Complaint: How to File Against a Builder Online

Information verified from official sources as of March 2026. Portal interfaces change — always confirm at pgportal.gov.in, your municipal corporation’s official portal, or your state’s RTI portal before applying.