The Hindu : New Delhi News : Centre to protect godowns in agricultural areas from sealing

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Saturday, Sep 01, 2007
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New Delhi

Centre to protect godowns in agricultural areas from sealing

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Bill is expected to be presented in the Lok Sabha next week

NEW DELHI: The Union Urban Development Ministry has decided to protect the warehouses or “godowns” in Delhi’s agricultural areas from sealing operations in future by providing them immunity through a Bill that is expected to be presented in the Lok Sabha next week. While the primary purpose of the Bill would be to provide a year’s moratorium from sealing in various unauthorised colonies, warehouses have been included in it to prevent a food crisis.

Sources in the Ministry said the new Ordinance would replace the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006, that lapsed on May 19 this year and had provided a moratorium from sealing and demolition for farmhouses, schools, dispensaries, and religious and cultural institutions that had come up on agricultural land.

“The Bill would provide us time to frame policy guidelines for settling the issue effectively. We will get a year’s time to work out the modalities. This is important as the new guidelines for unauthorised colonies would have to be approved by the Delhi High Court as per its order on the issue,” sources said.

Stating that the Union Government had already taken a policy decision to regularise all unauthorised colonies of Delhi, sources said the Government was now working towards formulating the plan to ensure implementation of the decision in a manner acceptable to the courts. He said the Law Department approved of the Bill on Tuesday. As for the decision to include the warehouses, sources said this was done to protect public interest. “If these warehouses are targeted by the sealing drive, then there would be an acute shortage of all kinds of food grains and other items and this would in turn lead to hoarding and spiralling increase in prices of items of daily use. So we have decided to protect these warehouses from sealing.” Sources said it would replace the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2007.

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