In yet another step signalling confrontation with the Centre, the Arvind Kejriwal Government is to come out with a policy to allot land to State-level political parties. Surprisingly, land is out of the purview of the City Government. Officers say that the Government is trying to implement the policy as it does not have land for its own office. A proposal regarding guidelines on allotment of land to political parties in Delhi for their office building was put up before the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Top sources told The Pioneer that the AAP Government is bringing a policy guideline for allotment of land to political parties in Delhi for their office buildings. The issue was discussed at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. This was the second occasion when the Delhi Cabinet deliberated the guidelines for allotment of land to political parties. The move will further create tussle between lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and the Delhi Government as land does not come under the State Government. Delhi Development Authority and land and Building Department are the two agencies that deal with land and both these departments are under the Union Urban Development Ministry. If the State Government needs land for public purposes, it approaches either lieutenant Governor or the Ministry of Urban Development (UD). The question is what would be the point of such guidelines when the State Government does not have control over land.
As per guidelines, the guidelines approved by the UD Ministry and the Election Commission of India (ECI) would be applicable for allotment of land for construction of office building.
“The political party would not be eligible for allotment of land in Delhi if they have been allotted from Centre. The land should be allotted on leasehold basis and the allotment should be made on payment of premium at zonal variant institutional rate prevailing on the date of allotment,” it said.
Sources said the Urban Development Department officials were not keen on the proposal for bringing a guideline for allotment of land to political parties. The work was earlier assigned to PWD, but it has rejected saying that it comes under the UD Department while the UD was not interested as land does not come under its purview.
Two major political parties — Congress and BJP — have huge office space and building for its Pradesh offices on a prime location in the national Capital. The Delhi Congress has five-storey building office at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg. The Delhi BJP has huge campus and office building at Pandit Pant Marg. But the two parties are politically insignificant in the State Assembly as Congress has reduced to zero while the BJP has only three members in the House. Contrary to this, the AAP has a majority of 67 MlAs in the House. This makes the party leadership highly ambitious to own a prime plot in the national Capital in the lines of the Congress and the BJP. The AAP party office at Patel Nagar is on rent. At present, the AAP has four MPs and so it has been allotted one double-suite accommodation in Vithalbhai Patel House.
It would be interesting to mention that the UD Ministry has allotted land to 10 political parties here, the maximum quantum of land to the Congress and the BJP. While the Congress got 8,093 sq m land in 2010 on Kotla Road, the BJP got 8,095 sq m land at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Road last year. The CPI was the first party to get land to construct an office of its own in 1968 at 1,214 sq m land on Kotla Road. The Congress was allotted 1,127 sq m of land on Rouse Avenue on May 15, 1987. Interestingly, the CPM has been allotted land at three places — 1,197.33 sq m land on Market Road (1983), 1,849.80 sq m on Kotla Road (2008) and 868 sq m land (2014). While theTMC was allotted 1,008 sq m land in December, 2013, the Samajwadi Party got possession of 4,047 sq m land in 2010. The JD(U) has been allotted 2,000 sq m land at Vasant Vihar and the RJD has possession of 1,904 sq m land on Kotla Road. The AIADMK has possession of 1,008 sq m land in Saket since 2010 and the DMK has 1,008 sq m land on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya road.