Delhi govt in fast gear over regularisation of unauthorised colonies

Eyeing next year's assembly election,Delhi Government has almost completed necessary ground work to regularise around 900 unauthorised colonies which are home to around 40 lakh people.

Eyeing next year’s assembly election,Delhi Government has almost completed necessary ground work to regularise around 900 unauthorised colonies which are home to around 40 lakh people.

After a cabinet meeting,Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said government was waiting for certain clarification from the Union Urban Development Ministry and may even start regularising the colonies from next week.

“We have decided to seek opinion on the issue. The ground work for regularising around 900 colonies has been completed,” Dikshit said.

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Officials said

class="" rel="nofollow, noopener" target="_blank">Delhi government has sought opinion from Union UD Ministry whether the Delhi High Court should be informed about the regularisation process as in an order in 1993,it had asked the city authorities to do so.

“The court had asked the government to inform about regularisation of any colony in the city,” they said. Opinion has already been sought from the UD Ministry on whether the notification for regularisation would be issued by the Delhi Government or by the Centre.

The Delhi government had in June finalised boundaries of over 1,018 unauthorised colonies paving the way for their regularisation,a key poll promise of the Congress government which is due to face election in 15 months.

In the evening,top officials of Delhi Government including Chief Secretary P K Tripathi met senior officials of UD Ministry and discussed the issue.

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Delhi government had issued provisional regularisation certificates to over 1,200 unauthorised colonies 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.

However,not a single colony has been regularised so far.

The process slowed down considerably last year following allegations that some “non existent” as well as “ineligible” colonies were given provisional regularisation certificates flouting norms.

After the Congress’ defeat in municipal polls in April,Dikshit had asked all concerned departments to expedite the regularisation process.

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Lack of developmental work in unauthorised colonies,which were traditional Congress strongholds,was identified as a major reason for the defeat in the municipal polls.

The government had tasked the Survey of India with finalising the boundaries.

Urban Development Minister A K Walia said once the settlements are regularised,the residents will be able to legally sell and buy their properties. Currently sale and purchase of properties is not allowed in the unauthorised colonies.

Walia said all agencies concerned including Forest Department,ASI,DDA and MCD have submitted their reports in respect of the 1,018 unauthorised colonies whose boundaries have been sealed.