New Delhi: After waiting for nearly four years, residents of 69 ‘affluent colonies’, including Sainik Farms, Chattarpur Enclave, Mahendru Enclave, want the Narendra Modi government to fulfil its poll promise of giving them ownership rights to their properties.
A group of residents held a candle march in south Delhi’s Chattarpur area Sunday to remind the government of its poll promise, while some have sought an appointment with Union Housing and Urban Affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri to discuss the issue and expedite the process, ThePrint has learnt.
These 69 ‘affluent colonies’, mostly located in South Delhi, are part of the 1,797 unauthorised colonies identified in Delhi for which the Modi government enacted the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Act in 2019.
The Centre launched the PM-Unauthorised Colonies in Delhi Awas Yojana (PM-UDAY) in December 2019 to give ownership rights to residents of unauthorised colonies, but these 69 colonies were not covered as these were categorised as upscale or ‘affluent’.
Since then, residents of these colonies have been running from pillar to post to get ownership of their properties.
“During the Assembly elections in Delhi, we were promised that the process for our 69 colonies would start soon. We now request the central government to fulfil its promise,” H.S. Bhalla, president of Western Avenue Residents’ Welfare Association in Sainik Farms, told ThePrint.
“A large number of properties in Sainik Farms came up in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, we can’t even carry out basic repairs to maintain our houses. Our residents have been regularly paying house tax yet are deprived from basic amenities like piped water, cleaning and removal of garbage and sanitation.”
Bhalla said that associations of these colonies have sought appointment from Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri as well as Delhi Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena.
Now, residents of these upscale residential neighbourhoods say that they want the central government to fix a timeline for implementation of the PM-UDAY scheme.
“There is no plan to take up these colonies immediately. The focus right now is on 1,700-odd unauthorised colonies of lower income groups. These 69 colonies will be taken up once we have made some progress in giving ownership rights to residents,” a senior official from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
Residents of some of these residential colonies including Chattarpur Enclave say that they have been wrongly clubbed with ‘affluent colonies’, as most of their houses are less than 1,200 sq. ft in size.
“Our colony was put in the list of ‘affluent colonies’ without any survey. Authorities should come and see the size of the houses and then decide if we fall in the affluent category or not. A large number of flats are approximately 800-1,200 sq. ft in size,” said Chattarpur Enclave Phase-II RWA president Vani Aggrawal.
The delay in giving ownership to these residents was raised by BJP’s South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri in the Lok Sabha in December last year. “We never said that we will not take up these colonies. We are doing it sequentially… We will take up these colonies after completing the process in other unauthorised colonies, where people from economically weaker sections live,” the Union housing and urban affairs minister had said in response.
According to senior ministry officials, no decision has been taken regarding inclusion of these colonies in the PM-UDAY scheme as of now.
ThePrint reached the ministry for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
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‘Fix timeframe for PM-UDAY implementation’
Residents of these 69 colonies say that the pace at which PM-UDAY is being implemented, it looks unlikely that the government will be able to start giving ownership certificates anytime soon. They want the government to fix a timeframe for its implementation.
According to information available on the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) portal, 21,638 property owners in 1,700-plus colonies have got ownership rights till 2 February, 2024.
While it is estimated that there are over 10 lakh properties in these 1,700-plus unauthorised colonies, just 1.18 lakh property owners have applied for ownership in the past four years. The DDA is the nodal agency for the implementation of the PM-UDAY scheme.
“We can’t wait for the government to finish the process in other 1,700 unauthorised colonies. In four years, the government has been able to give ownership to just 21,000 plus people. How long does it expect us to wait?” Raman Aggarwal, a resident of Sainik Farms and member of one of such associations, said.
Aggarwal along with a group of residents from fellow colonies organised a candle march on Sunday. “Though the government has assured that it will be done, we want the government to give us a date or fix a timeframe about the implementation of PM-UDAY. The candle march is just to remind the government about its promise.”
Bhalla, meanwhile, said that the government shouldn’t wait for the process to be completed in 1,700-plus lower income group colonies colonies before granting ownership to the remaining 69 colonies.
“It might take years to complete the process as there are close to 10 lakh properties and no deadline for the PM-UDAY implementation in these colonies. As there is no deadline for the approved colonies to apply for ownership, these people are getting the work done as per their convenience,” he alleged.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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