Aam Aadmi Party slams BJP's move on illegal colonies

The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday questioned the Union cabinet’s nod to an ordinance on regularising Delhi’s unauthorised colonies saying that it will not yield tangible benefits for residents of the settlements.

The party said the decision lacks force of law to regularise the unauthorised colonies.    
“The resident of the unauthorised colonies still cannot register their houses nor can they get their maps approved from the civic bodies.

There will still not be any development work through MCD or MLA funds,” AAP leader Manish Sisodia said.

He added that the cabinet’s decision preceded mandatory measures like providing legal ownership to the residents of unauthorised colonies and changes in by-laws of landowning government agencies – such as Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

According to the AAP, all the unauthorised colonies in Delhi are mainly on agricultural land, forest land or land owned by the DDA and ASI.

The party said the BJP-led Union government’s decision will merely extend the cut off date for regularisation of such colonies, overriding the previous resolution that was brought in by the UPA government in 2007.

The then UPA government had cleared 895 unauthorised colonies for regularisation.
“The BJP has made claims that theirs is a different resolution as compared to the one issued in 2007,” Sisodia said, challenging the Centre to make public the names of colonies it will regularise and till when.

He alleged that the government decision is akin to then Sheila Dixit government’s move to distribute provisional certificates to the residents of unauthorised colonies – without providing legal ownership.

Accusing BJP and Congress of misleading promises, the AAP leader said, “They treat the people of the unauthorised colonies like milking-cows. Before every election they offer them a lollipop to catch votes, but take no concrete action whatsoever.”