New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to grant ownership rights to residents living in Delhi's 1,731 unauthorised colonies. The bill was passed by a voice vote and some amendments moved by opposition members were defeated.
While taking part in discussion on a bill to confer ownership rights to over 40 lakh people residing in unauthorised colonies in Delhi. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri stated that the government was putting in place architecture and ecosystem to implement the decision and
digital maps of all such colonies will be uploaded by the end of this year.
Moving the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Bill, 2019 for passage in the House, the minister said that a portal had been
created for digital maps and another will be put in place by the middle of the next month for people to upload their documents.
Puri further said that his father also came to Delhi as a refugee after partition. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government was laying
thrust on urban renewal and more than 1.12 crore houses will be built under the Pradhan Manti Awas Yojna to
fulfill the mission of Housing for All by 2022," he said in the House.
Taking on erstwhile Congress government in Delhi, the Union Minister said, "Some 'half-hearted' steps were made in 2008 during Congress rule about unauthorized colonies and a court judgement in 2011 laid down that sale agreement/General Power of Attorney or Will transactions are not 'transfers' or 'sales' and that such transactions cannot be treated as completed transfers or conveyances."
"Nothing would have happened till 2021 and the Narendra Modi government took a decision to take steps to provide relief to people. The plot size in illegal colonies was small and work on digital mapping will be completed by December 21 this year," he said, adding "The maps are being uploaded on a new website. We are not going only by satellites data, we are putting boundaries. The RWA (Resident Welfare Associations) will be given 15 days to respond."
Apart from others, BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri, DMK's Dayanidhi Maran, TMC's Protima Mondal participated in the discussion.
While taking on government, Maran said that if the government was honest, it should not try to draw political mileage from the legislation brought to provide special provisions for 'recognising' unauthorised colonies in the national capital.