In a big relief to a large number of residents of unauthorised colonies, slum dwellers, street vendors, existing farmhouses and several other structures and constructions, the Union Cabinet on Friday approved the proposal to protect them from sealing and demolition till December 31, 2020.
The Cabinet extended the validity of Delhi laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011, which is expiring on December 31, 2017 for three years from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2020. Both Centre and Delhi Government had taken an in-principle decision to regularize unauthorised colonies.
The proposed extension of the said Act beyond December 2017, was necessitated because adoption of measures to finalise norms, policy guidelines, feasible strategies for making orderly arrangements to deal with the problem of encroachment and unauthorised development have to be taken by bodies like Delhi Government, Delhi Development Authority, the three Municipal bodies.
These bodies are in the process of taking steps to carry out surveys, simplifying procedures, formulation of redevelopment plan, finalisation of policies, obtaining approvals, in this regard.
The approved bill will be placed in Parliament for passage during this session. The Act was first notified in 2006 to protect such activities and built up areas from punitive action and it was followed by similar statutes annually. The last one was in 2014.
As per the existing Act, government has to come out with proper arrangements for relocation/rehabilitation of slum dwellers and slum clusters; regulation of street vendors; regularisation of unauthorised colonies, villages located in the municipal limits, their extension and existing farmhouses. The structures and facilities such as schools, dispensaries, religious and cultural institutions, storages, warehouses and godowns built on agricultural land need to be regularised.
“The phenomenal growth of Delhi has had its inevitable implications and impact in terms of shelter, including squatter settlements, and other infrastructure facilities leading to problems of encroachment on public land, growth of slums, unauthorised constructions, large scale commercialisation of residential areas, inadequacy of housing stocks, etc,” the Bill said.