The Hindu : New Delhi News : Maken lambasts Chauhan over regularisation

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New Delhi

Maken lambasts Chauhan over regularisation

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Confusion created because of an ‘error committed by the Delhi Government’ over listing of illegal colonies

‘Final guidelines were sent to the Delhi Govt. for drawing up a list of illegal colonies’
‘Instead Delhi Govt. issued an ad. to RWAs to submit ‘draft’ regulations modalities’

Bickering continues: Ajay Maken and Raj Kumar Chauhan.

NEW DELHI: Joining issue with the Delhi Government on the “fiasco” over the issue of regularisation of unauthorised colonies, Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken has in response to a letter sent by Development Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan on Saturday written to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit stating that the confusion was because of an “error committed by the Delhi Government”.

In the detailed letter, Mr. Maken has written that the error was that while the Ministry of Urban Development had asked the Delhi Government to draw a list of unauthorised colonies on the basis of the guidelines finalised and issued by it, the Delhi Government instead issued the advertisement on November 14 and asked residents’ welfare societies to submit papers on the basis of “draft” regulations or suggested modalities prepared by the Delhi Development Authority.

He said these modalities were still under scrutiny and finalisation by the Ministry. Mr. Maken also stated that Mr. Chauhan’s letter also gives out “the reason for confusion” in the Delhi Government. He said Mr. Chauhan has wrongly mentioned that the letter written by the Union Government to the DDA informing about the guidelines was sent only for information to the Delhi Government.

In fact, he pointed out that line 6 of page 2 of this letter states that the “Delhi Government is also requested to take immediate action for drawing up a list of unauthorised colonies which could be considered for regularisation in terms of the revised guidelines”. Thus the guidelines finalised by the Union Ministry were sent to the Delhi Government not only for information but for drawing up a list of unauthorised colonies on the basis of approved guidelines also, Mr. Maken said.

Further, he said, the applications from unauthorised colonies should have been invited on the basis of these guidelines, which do not mention any word about service plan, site plan and building plan. “It does not mention about requirement for any piece of land to be handed over to the local body by the residents’ welfare societies. Neither does it put burden on the residents’ welfare societies to carry out the developmental work. It does not limit the number of unauthorised colonies to 1,539. Rather it allows any extended abadi of a village to be regularised as an unauthorised colony. This is how it is different from the previous 2004 guidelines,” Mr. Maken clarified.

Holding Mr. Chauhan to task for not rectifying the error despite his explaining the entire issue to him on January 8, Mr. Maken said: “Unfortunately, instead of rectifying the mistakes, the erring officers, in order to escape the wrath, have again tried to divert the issue.”

Mr. Maken said it is under the instructions of United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Urban Development Ministry S. Jaipal Reddy that his Ministry was working hard to take care of the poorest of the poor urban dwellers. Thus, he said, his Ministry had found it highly impractical to ask the residents’ welfare societies representing the poor sections to prepare technical plans for laying of sewage lines, water lines, electricity lines, drainage gradations etc. Also, it had not asked the residents of 100 per cent built up colonies to cede away 15 per cent of the land or the residents of these colonies to carry out detailed technical developmental work in their colonies. “This is a specialised job, which can be best carried out by concerned specialised agencies.”

Mr. Maken said what has pained him the most was that on account of the erroneous advertisement featuring the photograph of Ms. Sonia Gandhi, the Delhi Government has asked for technical plans which were not required, affidavits promising for payments by the residents, which were not required, and cessation 15 per cent land, which was not required, as per the 2007 guidelines. “What is worse,” he said, “is that the residents’ welfare societies have reportedly collected lakhs of rupees from the poor unauthorised colony dwellers in the name of preparing technical drawings and plans.

The Union Minister also questioned the logic behind the Delhi Government officials following the guidelines issued by the Union Ministry while defining private and public land but not while placing the advertisement for the purpose of drawing up the list of unauthorised colonies.

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