The Delhi Development Authority is planning on launching the application portal for grant of ownership rights in 1,731 unauthorised colonies of Delhi by December 16 or earlier, according to top Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry and DDA officials.
On Saturday, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched the first of two portals planned for the grant of ownership rights. The DDA portal will allow residents’ welfare associations to send comments or objections on the maps drawn up for their respective colonies. DDA vice-chairperson Tarun Kapoor said so far maps of 40 colonies had been uploaded and the boundaries of 500 colonies had been delineated and would be added to the portal in the coming few days. Mr. Puri said the entire process, including the second portal for applications, would be completed within three months of the Union Cabinet’s approval of the grant of ownership rights on October 23. The applications portal would be ready by December 16, Mr. Kapoor said, while Mr. Puri said it could be earlier.
Mr. Puri said the process was being monitored at the “highest levels” in the government. When asked whether it would be completed in time, since the DDA had uploaded maps of only 40 out of 1,731 colonies so far, Mr. Kapoor said a team of officials of the Survey of India, DDA and Revenue departments were working to complete it.
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Hitting out at the Delhi government, Mr. Puri said the Centre was carrying out the process of delineation of boundaries of unauthorised colonies in three months, something which the Delhi government had not been able to complete in 11 year, since the process started in 2008.
He said the AAP government had not only “obstructed” the grant of ownership rights to the unauthorised colonies, but also projects of urban transport, including phase-4 of the Delhi Metro and the rapid rail project.
“The obstructionist and irresponsible attitude of the Delhi government is evident on every issue pertaining to the welfare and benefit of the people of Delhi,” he said.
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Referring to the debate on Delhi’s air pollution, Mr. Puri said the Delhi government was issuing advertisements of the reduction in pollution on one hand, but when air quality gets worse, it blamed the crop residue burning in Punjab and Haryana for the same.
With elections to the Delhi Assembly expected in early 2020, Mr. Puri said the decision to grant ownership rights to these unauthorised colonies that are home to 40 lakh people was the work of the Ministry and not related to elections. Saturday’s press conference, where he discussed matters related to Delhi, would be the first in a series of weekly press conferences till the elections, he said.