The Hindu : New Delhi News : Illegal constructions on the rise in Lutyens’ Zone

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Saturday, Jan 19, 2008
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Illegal constructions on the rise in Lutyens’ Zone

Manisha Jha

‘A new reception is being constructed in place of the canteen at Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters’

The High Court had directed the Ministry to take action against violators
‘Any new construction in the LBZ has to be done in accordance with the Master Plan’

NEW DELHI: Despite a Delhi High Court ruling asking the Central Public Works Department and the Union Ministry for Urban Development to remove all illegal constructions in Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone, violations continue to abound.

After several Members of Parliament, Ministers and senior Government officials, the latest addition to the list of violators is the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters at 11 Ashoka Road where “pucca” construction for building a new reception area has been going on for well over a month.

BJP headquarters in-charge Shyam Jaju said: “We are interchanging the location of the reception and the canteen. A new reception is being constructed in place of the canteen and the canteen in turn has been shifted to the old reception area.”

Interestingly, while the BJP functionaries maintains that they had sought prior permission from the CPWD before undertaking the construction, the government agency has denied receiving any such request.

When questioned about the case, a CPWD official said: “We have not given permission to go ahead with this construction. But these are sensitive issues and since powerful people are involved in such cases, they don’t get reported to us. We can only write to them and request them to remove the illegal structures.”

“If the construction is of permanent nature, it has to be sanctioned by the New Delhi Municipal Council first. In case of construction of a temporary nature, we give approval if it is in accordance with the LBZ guidelines,” he added.

The High Court in October 2007 had directed the Urban Development Ministry and the CPWD to take immediate action against those found guilty of carrying out illegal additions and alterations to their official residences and file an action taken report.

According to the Delhi Urban Arts Commission, any new construction in the LBZ has to be done in accordance with the Master Plan, Zonal Plan and the LBZ guidelines issued by the Central Government.

Statutory body

A DUAC member said: “In any case if any additional construction has to be undertaken in the LBZ, the plan has to be sanctioned by the local statutory body which is the NDMC, while the CPWD remains the implementing body overlooking such additional construction.”

However, the NDMC has denied its role in the matter. An NDMC official said: “The prerogative of identifying and taking action on any unauthorised construction in the LBZ rests with the CPWD itself according to the CPWD manual and office memorandum circulated in 2006.”

While the NDMC and the CPWD try to pass the buck, violations of the court order continue in LBZ.

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