The Times of India 28.08.2012
900 colonies to be regularized
On Monday, Dikshit met Union urban development minister Kamal Nath along with her outgoing urban development minister A K Walia, and Arvinder Singh Lovely, who will now handle the portfolio. The Centre's approval followed Dikshit's clarifications on various issues that were blocking the decision.
Dikshit's parliamentary secretary Mukesh Sharma, who was present during the meeting, said Delhi government would issue a notification on Tuesday to regularize 917 colonies. A K Walia said decks have been cleared for issuance of the notification to regularize the colonies, considered traditional votebank of the Congress in the city of 1.67 crore.
The Delhi BJP has, however, sought to know how this announcement will give the 40 lakh people residing in these colonies rights to register their properties and execute legal deeds, and get civic amenities in the absence of necessary formalities to be completed by the civic agencies.
The Delhi government had completed all the ground work for regularization of the colonies, a key poll promise of the Congress government which is due to face elections in 15 months.
Delhi government had issued provisional regularization certificates to over 1,639 unauthorized colonies ahead of assembly polls in 2008. The Dikshit government, while distributing the certificates, had promised to regularize the colonies if Congress came to power for the third term.
Meanwhile, the Delhi BJP hit back at the Congress for its "hasty and unplanned decision" and misleading the people of Delhi with promise of a "bogus certification".
The BJP cited the pre-2008 assembly election declaration of provisional regularization and issuance of provisional regularization certificates.
"Till date not even a single colony has been regularized. Between 2008 March when the first set of guidelines for regularisation were issued by the union ministry of urban development the guidelines itself have been undermined by interpretations that suit the government," BJP state President Vijender Gupta had said at a press meet on Saturday.