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.