CM promises development for illegal colonies, homes for poor

The development of rural and urbanised villages and unauthorised colonies is one of the priority areas for the Delhi government in the budget for 2012-2013. HT reports.

The development of rural and urbanised villages and unauthorised colonies is one of the priority areas for the Delhi government in the budget for 2012-2013.

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The government has invested Rs 2,597 crore till March 2012 for providing civic services in unauthorised colonies and has proposed to spend another Rs 631 crore in the present financial year.

“If required, the amount will be suitably enhanced for development work in unauthorised colonies,” Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said in her budget speech.

The government has also proposed R53 crore for providing basic civic amenities in urbanised villages and Rs 192 crore for rural villages. Dikshit also promised to regularise all eligible unauthorised colonies within the framework and guidelines issued by the Centre. The government has already issued provisional regularisation certificates to about 1,200 unauthorised colonies in 2008.

Allotment of 500 EWS houses, the first of 15,000 flats for JJ cluster households, would also commence soon, she said. The government also promised to grant ownership rights to families residing in about 44 JJ resettlement colonies.

The government’s ‘My Delhi I Care Fund Programme’, in which local resident welfare associations can suggest development work in their area, would now have a fund allocation of Rs 45 crore, instead of the present Rs 5 crore.

The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, which maintains 150 night shelters in the city, has been assigned the task of improving common services in ‘katras’ and a fund of Rs 5 crore has been proposed for this purpose.