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Journalism of Courage
Delhi’s controversial address, Sainik Farms — home to the capital’s rich and powerful — may look forward to buying its way to legitimacy in the next two months.
The Centre is looking at a proposed formula which aims at regularizing the illegal colony at a price. Top sources told The Indian Express that the formula being looked at by a government-appointed committee is charging these farmhouse owners a total of the cost of the plot at the “prevailing market rate” plus 50% of this sum.
The 50%, over and above the price of the land at the existing market rate, is being treated as penalty for violating land laws.
Sources said the unit area method — which categorizes property as per location for collection of property tax — and registration records will be factored in while arriving at the “market” rate. However, the exact methodology is still being worked out.
So if the market value of a plot is Rs 5 crore, the penalty component will be Rs 2.5 crore, and a total of Rs 7.5 crore will be the “fee” to “legalise” the plot in this illegal colony. Given Sainik Farms’ 1600-acre sprawl of agricultural land, this is also expected to generate revenue, sources said.
This controversial area has been seen as a clear violation of land and revenue laws, along with Master Plan of Delhi’s provisions by the Justice Nanavati Commission’s report, submitted to the Centre in September last year.
The formula is being worked out, sources say, in line with the Nanavati report, which had recommended that not only land price should be recovered from the illegal owners while legalizing, but also a penalty should be imposed so that it acts as a deterrent for the land mafia. The land in case of Sainik Farms, it is said, was given to ex-service personnel for farming, which was then converted into residential bungalows of palatial proportions.
The farmhouses were then sold to the city’s high and mighty, who own them now, and have created their own roads, power supply, water reservoirs on the agricultural land. Two more colonies, Anant Ram dairy in south Delhi and Mahendru Enclave in north, will also be regularized using the same formula, as they too are tony colonies on private and government land, sources said. Sources said that once the government-appointed committee on legalizing these farmhouses submits its report by December end, the matter will be put up before the Union Cabinet for its approval.
But before that happens, the Union government will move a proposal to regularize other illegal colonies on both private as well as government’s land, 1,432 of them identified by Delhi’s Sheila Dikshit government, Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy indicated on Monday. This proposal is expected to come up before the Union Cabinet by December 15.
