Unauthorised colonies make it to sealing amnesty bill

The impending sealing action against commercial establishments in unauthorised colonies, to start in three weeks, may not happen at all, reports Aruna P Sharma.

The impending sealing action against commercial establishments in unauthorised colonies, to start in three weeks, may not happen at all. The Urban Development Ministry’s proposed Bill, seeking extension of the moratorium prohibiting sealing and demolition of farmhouses, institutions on agricultural land, vendors and slum-dwellers, will include unauthorized colonies too. The Bill is likely to be introduced in this session of Parliament and has been cleared by the Law Ministry, senior officials in the Urban Development Ministry said.

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The Bill essentially seeks to extend some provisions of the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act introduced last year. The law was enacted in May last to ‘protect’ commercial establishments from being sealed and unauthorized constructions from being demolished, besides stopping dislocation of slums and street-vendors until a policy could be framed for them. An ordinance was issued earlier this year to extend the provisions of the Act relating to farmhouses, socio-cultural, religious and educational institutions on farmland, slum-dwellers and street-vendors.

The proposed Bill does not extend the provisions relating to commercial establishments and unauthorized constructions, as these have been given maximum possible relief through the Master Plan and relaxed building byelaws, officials in the Urban Development Ministry said.

Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy and his Minister of State Ajay Maken, at the time of announcing the new Master Plan 2021 this year, had said that the regularization policy for the 1500-odd illegal colonies would be notified in three months.