Delhi Govt speeds up development work in unauthorised colonies

With assembly polls just five months away, the Delhi government has issued instruction for speeding up development works in all the 895 unauthorised colonies, home to around 35 lakh people.
The colonies were regularised in September last year and various agencies like PWD, Delhi Jal Board and municipal corporations have been tasked to put in place all the required infrastructure in the settlements at the earliest.
"The concerned agencies have been asked to speed up infrastructure development works in the 895 colonies," a senior official said.
Asked about questions being raised about status of the unauthorised colonies, Urban Development Secretary R K Srivastava said government has followed all required procedures to regularise the 895 settlements.

"All the 895 colonies have been regularised. There should not be any apprehensions about their status," he said.
The government has already asked all the three municipal corporations to take the help of professional architects in making the layout plans for colonies that have already been regularised.

The Delhi government last month had opened sale and purchase of properties in 320 unauthorised colonies, which came up on private land.
Out of 895 colonies which were regularised on September 5, as many as 320 settlements are on private land, while the remaining ones came up on government land.
The Delhi government had issued provisional regularisation certificates to over 1,639 unauthorised colonies ahead of assembly polls in 2008. The then Dikshit government, while distributing the certificates, had promised to regularise the colonies if Congress came to power for the third term.

Out of the 1,639 colonies, 895 were regularised in September last year. The unauthorised colonies are considered traditional vote-banks of Congress.
After the Congress' defeat in municipal polls in April last year, Dikshit had asked all the departments concerned to expedite the regularisation process.
The government had instructed municipal corporations to finalise the lay out plans for each of the 895 regularised colonies at the earliest.