In a relief to scores of farmhouse owners, the office of the lieutenant Governor of Delhi has prohibited punitive action against South and South-West Delhi farmhouses, which meet the eligibility criteria for regularisation.
The communication has been made to the Divisional Commissioner of the Delhi Government to issue directions to all the Deputy Commissioners of Revenue Department not to initiate penal action against those farmhouses which are eligible for regularisation under notification issued on October 31, 2012 or will be eligible for approval under the new farmhouse policy which is expected to be notified.
Devinder Singh, Special Secretary to the l-G, has written to the Divisional Commissioner (Revenue) not to initiate any punitive action under the provisions of Delhi land Reforms Act, 1954, in area where existing
farmhouses will be regularised or where farmhouses with one acre norms will be permitted under the new farmhouse policy, approved by the Delhi Development Authority and which is likely to be notified.
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had issued a notification for regularisation of 1,500 farmhouses, which were found flouting the norms under Section 81 of the Delhi land Reforms Act, in the name of country homes on October 30, 2012.
The new farmhouse policy (country homes) allows for new country homes on minimum plot area of one acre. Country homes have been defined as special low density residential plots.
However, Delhi Government's Revenue Department has issued notices to these farmhouses asking why action should not be taken against them for flouting norms.
The Revenue Department had issued notices under Section 81 of the DlR Act, last year, to several politicians, including Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, former Union Minister K Natwar Singh, MK Subba, Sardar Balwant Singh, Romesh Sharma, Jagat Singh and former Rajya Sabha MP RK Anand for violating the Act.
Section 81 of the Delhi land Reforms Act, 1954 — under which the notices have been issued —provides for ejection of the allottees for violation of land-use norms. Under this provision, the land on which the farmhouses have been built can be used only for agriculture, horticulture, pisciculture and poultry farming.
According to an estimate, there are over 2,700 farmhouses in Delhi, with a minimum size of 2.5 acres. Some of them are as large as 5-7 acres. Similar notices were issued to farmhouse owners in 2003 and majority of them did not reply to the department.
The action was put in cold storage due to political and bureaucratic pressures as a large number of politicians and corporate bigwigs have farmhouses in South Delhi. In some cases, corporate houses are running their business from these houses. Insiders say land was allotted for agricultural purposes and is not being used for the same.
Several farmhouse owners are running real estate businesses from their premises, while some of them have allowed the corporate houses to run their business from there.