NEW DELHI: The Union Minister of State for Urban Development, Ajay Maken, on Thursday announced notification of the high-power committee headed by former Lieutenant-Governor Tejinder Khanna to look into various aspects of unauthorised construction and misuse of premises in Delhi. He also announced the terms of reference of the committee that has been asked to submit its report within three months.

The other members of the committee are former chief planner and well-known architect E.F.N. Rebeiro, Congress MLA S. C. Vats and BJP MLA Harsh Vardhan. Additional Commissioner (MCD) M. M. Kutty will function as the secretary of the committee. Mr. Maken said the terms of reference of the committee would include assessment of the magnitude of the problem of unauthorised constructions and misuse of premises, assessment of various types of violations and putting them in broad categories in terms of the nature and extent of these violations, and identification of the underlying causes leading to these violations.

Further, the committee in light of the above would suggest a feasible strategy to deal with various issues involved in the matter. It would also recommend policy guidelines and development control norms for regulating construction activities in Lal Dora areas of Delhi. Recommending measures to prevent recurrence of such violations in the future, the panel would also go into the structure and accountability of the anti-encroachment machinery and to consider any other matter incidental or related to the terms and references mentioned above.

Mr. Maken said it was on the directions of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that this committee was formed to find an amicable solution to the present problem. There had been large-scale unauthorised construction and misuse of premises in various parts of the Capital. Even though no proper survey had been carried out, the extent and magnitude of this problem is assessed to be huge. The issues involved are many and the situation on ground extremely complex, he said, adding that a comprehensive strategy based on empirical data is, therefore, required to effectively address various aspects of the problem. The Minister said the committee would begin its work immediately and submit its report within three months. ``We are well aware of the sentiments of the courts on these issues and efforts would be made to find a solution to the satisfaction of the court orders'' he added.

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