The Economic Times 25.04.2013
Delhi to seek Centre’s nod for development of illegal colonies
NEW DELHI: With an eye on the assembly polls later this year, Delhi Government
today decided to seek the Centre’s nod to ease norms for carrying out
infrastructure development in around 450 unauthorised colonies, which as
per existing norms do not qualify for basic facilities.
As per
norms, unauthorised colonies, which had come up prior to March 31,
2002, and which had 50 per cent built-up area as on February 8, 2007,
were eligible for regularisation.
A meeting of the Delhi Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit,
decided to seek permission from the Union Urban Development Ministry to
carry out developmental works in those unauthorised colonies which have
fulfilled the condition 50 per cent built-up area now.
The
Cabinet has also agreed to the proposal of the Urban Development
Ministry for regularising a number of affluent colonies such as Sainik
Farm and given its nod to a scheme for conferring ownership rights to
residents of resettlement colonies.
Briefing the media after
the cabinet meeting, Dikshit said her government was committed to
regularise all the unauthorised colonies in the city and develop them on
par with other colonies.
Delhi Government had regularised 895
unauthorised colonies out of 1,639 such settlements with certain riders
in September last year paving the way for their development on par with
other areas in the city.
It had issued provisional
regularisation certificates to over 1,600 unauthorised colonies, home to
around 60 lakh people, ahead of assembly polls in 2008.
The then Dikshit government, while distributing the certificates, had promised to regularise the colonies if Congress came to power for the third term.
After the Congress’ defeat in municipal polls in April last year,
Dikshit had asked all concerned departments to expedite the
regularisation process.
The Chief Minister, who underwent a
surgery for sinusitis on Friday at the Fortis Escorts Heart Institute,
was discharged from the hospital this morning.
Officials said
450 colonies could not be considered for regularisation as the
percentage of their built-up area varied from 10 per cent to 45 per cent
in 2007. The percentage of built-up area in the settlements has now
crossed 50 per cent, they said.
“The city government would now
take up with the Union government to grant permission for carrying out
developmental works and regularise these colonies as per existing
guidelines,” Dikshit said.
Further, the Cabinet has expressed
its agreement with the contents of the Cabinet note of the Union
government seeking regularisation of the affluent colonies, she said.
The Chief Minister said government was also taking steps to grant
freehold rights to residents of 45 resettlement colonies which were
developed almost 60 years ago.
Around 2,50,000 plots measuring
25 sq yard to 80 sq yard were allotted to the beneficiaries by the
government in the resettlement colonies.
The city government
after giving careful consideration decided to grant ownership rights to
the resident of resettlement colonies.
The scheme envisages
grant of ownership rights to residents of resettlement colonies under
three categories — original allottee, legal heirs of allottee and
occupants who bought properties on the allotted plots and residing there
prior to December 31, 2011.
The resettlement colonies are
situated in different parts of the city including in Sriniwaspuri,
Wazirpur, Satya Niketan, Janakpuri Pankha Road and Madangir.
The Cabinet also constituted a committee of secretaries to decide
modalities for allotment of flats to the urban poor under Rajiv Ratna
Awas Yojana.
Around 15,000 low cost flats are ready for distribution among the economically weaker section.
