The Hindu : New Delhi News : Ajay Maken sits through session

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Thursday, Sep 11, 2008
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New Delhi

Ajay Maken sits through session

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

NEW DELHI: The first day of the three-day Assembly session that began on Wednesday had a Union Minister occupying the special benches. Union Urban Development Minister and a former Speaker of the Delhi Assembly Ajay Maken surprised many as he sat through the short duration discussion on the issue of regularisation of unauthorised colonies.

Mr. Maken listened intently as the Congress and the BJP traded charges over the status of unauthorised colonies.

Having taken a lead in seeking the regularisation of unauthorised colonies in the Capital, Mr. Maken later told The Hindu, that he perceives the process of regularisation as a means of providing basic amenities to the poor.

“The whole regularisation process is basically an effort to provide essential amenities like power, water, roads and sewers to the urban poor,” he said, adding, “today’s discussion assumes importance since we have already come out with the notification vis-À-vis the regularisation.”

Pointing out that his decision to sit through the discussion was borne out of “a sense of responsibility”, Mr. Maken said: “The Central Government is committed to the cause of regularising the unauthorised colonies and it was imperative to listen in to what the MLA’s from across party lines had to say.”

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