Order to regularise Delhi's unauthorised colonies likely in a month: Centre

The Centre is likely to issue an order to regularise unauthorised colonies in Delhi within a month, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs said on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference along with ministry secretary Durga Shanker Mishra, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of creating hurdles in the issue.

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs minister also termed as "incorrect" Kejriwal's claim that the Centre has approved the Delhi government's proposal on the issue sent in November, 2015.

Puri said the Centre has circulated among its stakeholders, including the Delhi government, a Cabinet note based on the report of a panel headed by the lieutenant governor for the regularisation of these colonies and not on the AAP dispensation's proposal.

In the next seven to 10 days, the ministry will get comments as sought from stakeholders and then it will get approval from the Union cabinet, he said.

"Within next one month, we will be able to issue the order (to regularise Delhi's 1,797 unauthorised colonies)," HUA Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra said.

Earlier this month, Kejriwal had said residents of unauthorised colonies in Delhi would soon have ownership rights of their houses and claimed that the Centre has agreed to the AAP government's proposal in this regard.

Puri claimed that a lot of people have told him that his ministry should not have sent the Union cabinet note on the regularisation of unauthorised colonies to the Delhi government.

"But I think that we did absolutely the right thing to send it to the Delhi government... If you are dealing with Kejriwal, it is a shoot and scoot game," the Union minister said.

Puri said that in the 2008 guidelines, unauthorised colonies were to be in existence as on March 31, 2002, and at least 50 per cent of the area was to be inhabited unauthorisedly till March 24, 2008.

"These two dates have been revised to June 1, 2014 and January 1, 2015 now. Delhi government is yet to carry out exercise to identify such areas scientifically," Puri also said.