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LDA running scared of powerful defaulters

LDA?S SELF-INDUCED inertia vis a vis Nehru Enclave continues. When illegal occupants remain as firmly and comfortably ensconced as ever, cocking a snook at the authorities, who can blame the defaulters for not clearing up their dues with the LDA!

Published on: Jun 29, 2006, 24:11:00 IST
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LDA’S SELF-INDUCED inertia vis a vis Nehru Enclave continues. When illegal occupants remain as firmly and comfortably ensconced as ever, cocking a snook at the authorities, who can blame the defaulters for not clearing up their dues with the LDA!

HT Image
HT Image

In fact, things have come to such a pass that LDA officials now, have no hesitation in admitting that they do not have enough courage to take on the politically well-connected students’ leaders and their minions thanks to the patronage that they enjoy by the ruling party. “Till such time the higher-ups give us the green light, there is nothing we can do, and the likes of Ram Singh Rana would continue to rule the roost in the colony,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

On the other hand, with the exception of bigwigs, some defaulters have finally come out and made part payment to the LDA against their respective flats.

According to sources, of the total 119 non-payers, who owe a whopping Rs 5.70 crore (and this is just the principal amount) to the LDA, 39 have paid up some money in installments against their dues. On May 13, Hindustan Times had published the names of these influential defaulters including some engineers and staff of LDA’s Property Section.

But except for Kalpana Rathore (a journalist) and junior engineer Dhanni Ram, who has coughed up Rs 1.75 lakh ever since, against his flat Number 39, none of those whose names figured in the list have bothered to clear their dues. The maximum number (44 to be precise) of allottees live in the expensive Rupayan Block of the Enclave followed by 11 in Vatayan, 34 in Pushpayan and 30 in Premayan category flats in the colony. An interesting aspect is that some of these defaulters have made payments in cash installments below Rs 50,000 several times obviously to hoodwink the Income Tax authorities.

When contacted, LDA Secretary RB Yadav said that the eviction drive in the Enclave could not be undertaken because the administration authorities were yet to respond to their written request to provide the necessary police and administrative back-up.

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