Only four of the 895 unauthorised colonies in south Delhi that were eligible for legalisation have had their layout plans sanctioned by the municipality in the past five years, leading to political parties blaming each other for the delay.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation, under whose jurisdiction 1,005 of the 1,639 unauthorised colonies are located, was given a list of 895 of these colonies by the Urban Development Department on September 4, 2012.
According to the reply of a short-notice query by the Leader of Opposition, Farhad Suri, at a meeting of the House on Monday, the SDMC had passed the layout plans of four colonies, giving the residents all the benefits of a legally-settled neighbourhood. As per the reply, these colonies were Shakti Vihar in Meethapur, Rajouri Garden Extension at Tatarpur, Jain Colony in C-Block of Uttam Nagar and Dr. Ambedkar Colony at Satbari.
‘Tall claims by BJP’
Initiating the discussion, Congress councillor Virender Kasana said that with 40% of Delhi’s population living in unauthorised colonies, there was a need to look at the promises of the BJP, which has ruled the municipalities for 10 years.
“The BJP had claimed that they would legalise these colonies and carry out development works. People voted for them because of that. But, for the past 10 years, the BJP has just been repeating the same promises,” said Mr. Kasana.
Referring to the official reply that no survey of unauthorised colonies was carried out by the SDMC, Congress councillor Praveen Rana asked, “How did the layout plans of four unauthorised colonies get cleared without a survey?”
While the Congress maintained that when it’s party was in power in the Centre and Delhi, the BJP-ruled corporations failed to clear the layout plans of these colonies.
The BJP, on its part, said that the Delhi government had not defined the boundaries of these colonies, preventing the corporations from approving the layout plans.
BJP councillor and former Mayor Sarita Choudhary said the Congress had failed to address the concerns of the unauthorised colonies for 15 years while Sheila Dikshit was the Chief Minister.
Cong-AAP nexus alleged
“Where was the Congress when Delhi’s farmlands were being cut to make way for these colonies? They were in power when Delhi saw people from all over coming and settling. Why didn’t they make arrangements for housing?” she asked.
The Leader of the House, Subhash Arya, said the Congress at the Centre and the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi had come to an understanding in 2013.
“They realised that if they regularised the colonies, the colonies would have to pay ₹1 lakh per acre as development charges. This would make them unpopular and cost them votes. So, they intentionally delayed the matter,” said Mr. Arya.
With elections to municipal corporations expected in April, political parties are gearing up to campaign, especially in the large parts of Delhi that are unauthorised, as several councillors alluded while addressing the House.
