In a move that will benefit 40 lakh people, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, 23 October, approved a proposal to grant ownership rights to people living in unauthorised colonies in Delhi, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said.
The proposal is based on the recommendations of a committee, he said.
The move comes ahead of the Assembly polls in the national capital, scheduled early next year.
Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the Centre would also bring a bill in the Winter Session of Parliament to give relief to the residents of the unauthorised colonies in the national capital.
The decision “is applicable to 1,797 identified unauthorised colonies” spread over 175 square km inhabited by people from lower income groups, he said.
It does not apply to 69 affluent colonies identified by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) including Sainik Farms, Mahendru Enclave and Anantram Dairy, Puri added.
‘Delhi Govt Will Set Up Camps to Help With Registration’: Kejriwal
Responding to the announcement, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “With Revenue department's assistance, Delhi government will set up camps in the unauthorised colonies to help with the registration.”
“Before our government came to power, people used to live in dilapidated conditions in these colonies. But in the past five years, we have invested around 6,000 crores in these colonies. We have fixed a lot water and sewage problems in the areas as well while some work is currently underway,” he added.
Kejriwal further talked about other suggestions that he had sent to the Centre like leaving the areas belonging to ASI, and to open the registration on the basis of GSDL (satellite) maps.
Gambhir Takes a Swipe at AAP
After Centre’s announcement to grant ownership rights to people living in unauthorised colonies, Delhi BJP MP Gautam Gambhir in his tweet taunted the Aam Aadmi Party saying that the AAP government only promises while the BJP delivers.
Other Announcements Made
Apart from the major announcement on Delhi’s unauthorised colonies, the government also put forward several other decisions.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad announced the merger of MTNL with BSNL for the revival of state-owned telecom firms. The revival package includes raising of Rs 15,000 crore sovereign bonds and monetising Rs 38,000 crore of assets in next four years.
The government also hiked Minimum Support Price (MSP) for wheat by Rs 85 to Rs 1,925 a quintal and for pulses by up to Rs 325 per quintal. Barley MSP has also been increased by Rs 85 to Rs 1,525 per quintal.
Lastly, the Centre also announced that it will open up fuel retailing norms, allowing non-oil companies to set up petrol pumps to increase competition.
(With inputs from PTI).
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