Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday took a dig at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government over the Anaj Mandi fire tragedy which claimed 43 lives. Puri asked why "those responsible behind such incidents" did not take their responsibilities seriously. Puri went on to add that departments such as fire, industries, electricity, water, Delhi Pollution Control Board (DPCC) and labour come under the Delhi Government.
The flouting of rules is clearly visible in Anaj Mandi area, Puri said, adding "If you (Delhi government) allow this to happen, it means you are not fulfilling your responsibilities." According to the ministry, the building is under Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006 which protects unauthorised construction from being sealed.
Puri sought to know as to how electricity connection was given to this building and what other government agencies like DPCC, labour department, industries department were doing? Fire department, which comes under Delhi government, should have gone to this building to check whether it has fire safety certificate or not, he said.
Taking a swipe at the AAP government's several free of cost services, Puri said "making everything free will not bring progress, the state needs resources".
In a related move to speed up process of granting ownership rights to the people of unauthorized colonies ahead of the coming assembly polls in Delhi, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Monday said the boundaries of 1300 have been mapped by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) so far. According to the Ministry, maps of around 950 unauthorized colonies have been uploaded on the DDA's portal. The Ministry also informed that 378 JJ clusters will be redeveloped under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).
In a move that is estimated to benefit 40-50 lakh low-income families in Delhi, Parliament last week passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Bill, 2019.The bill is now placed before the President for his assent.