East Delhi colony is first to get layout plan approved

East Azad Nagar in east Delhi became the first newly authorised colony whose layout plan was approved by the civic authorities on Thursday. It is one of the 895 colonies regularised by the Delhi government last year.

East Azad Nagar in east Delhi became the first newly authorised colony whose layout plan was approved by the civic authorities on Thursday. It is one of the 895 colonies regularised by the Delhi government last year.

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The civic agency claimed that this was the first layout plan to have been approved since 1976.

The approval of its layout plan will mean East Azad Nagar residents can now legally carry out new constructions or alterations after getting their building plans approved. More importantly, they can carry out sale and purchase of properties.

East corporation commissioner SS Yadav said that through the layout plan, public services will be marked according to the Master Plan. “The layout plan was finalised by the RWA with technical assistance from Jamia Millia Islamia,” Yadav said. But widening of roads in these colonies will not lead to immediate demolition of houses.

There had been a lot of tussle between the Congress-led Delhi government and BJP-ruled civic agencies over the issue of finalisation of layout plans in such colonies.

Yadav said that 83 plots had been demarcated in the colony, each measuring 3.5 acres. The layout plan had been prepared in a way that it leaves space for services such as parks and schools and makes provisions for space if a building owner decides to reconstruct the property.

The commissioner said that the regularisation process, which began nearly 10 years ago, took time as various complex procedures were involved. “Detailed planning was required, guidelines needed to be finalised, aerial photographs had to be taken and surveys had to be conducted by the deputy commissioners and sub-divisional magistrates,” the commissioner said.

The east corporation has taken up six colonies under its pilot project. “We are waiting for the formal submission of the plans by the RWAs of the three other colonies. Once it’s done, it will take a week for them to get regularised. The two other plans submitted to us have been sent to the DDA for carrying out change in land use,” Yadav said.