Delhi’s unauthorised colonies are often seen as a hurdle to the implementation of an inclusive development plan in the city. However, with the Central Government’s decision to legalize Delhi’s unauthorised colonies, the long-time residents of these colonies can now own their property legally and avail benefits of government schemes and civic services. Will this move be successful in improving the overall condition of these unauthorised colonies?
The National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Bill has sparked hopes in the hearts of residents of nearly 1,731 unauthorised colonies in Delhi. According to an estimate made by the Government of Delhi in 2013, nearly 30 per cent of Delhi’s population (according to Census 2011) or 40 lakh Delhiites live in unauthorised colonies. Since long, these residents have been promised by many leaders of the State that their demand to regularize their colony will be fulfilled. Moreover, being unauthorized, it was common to see narrow lanes and poorly built houses, open drains and broken pipelines in these colonies. With the passing of this Bill, government authorities responsible for providing civic services in the state will become liable to work on the development of these colonies as they will now be recognized places of residence of the public. Along with this, the government will also work to provide standard documents of ownership to the residents of these colonies. Further, the government has appointed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) as the agency responsible for the implementation of the Bill. The DDA has announced that it will set up an online portal for the residents to apply for the procedure. DDA claimed that it will complete the entire process in a timely manner and will also set up help centres. Despite of all these provisions, the Bill still seems incomplete and lacking in a number of ways.
Provisions of the Bill
1. A suitable circle rate for the sale and purchase of property in these colonies WOULD BE SET. This will regulate property prices in these colonies.
2. Stamp duty and registration charges will be calculated on the set circle rate AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION. residents can pay these charges in three installments.
3. Once the residents have completed the payments, whether in installments or otherwise, the government will grant them legal right to their property.
WHERE IS IT LACKING?
In order to know more about the Bill, Urban Update spoke with Dr Sanjay Kumar, co-Founder and co-Director of Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan and Aravind Unni, Thematic Lead, Urban Poverty Reduction, Indo-Global Social Service Society. The following points arose from the discussions:
Multi authoritarian model of working
Dr Sanjay Kumar, while explaining the provisions of the Bill, said that the passing of the Bill will prompt all municipal authorities in Delhi to carry out development work in the unauthorised colonies. He said, “Due to the multi-authoritarian model of working, the work carried out by these authorities might be delayed or even disturbed due to poor coordination between different organisations. An example of this would be clear when organisations related to water and sanitation would spring into action. Both would have work involving the digging up of roads and lanes to lay water and sewage pipelines. In the absence of proper coordination, both the works being carried out together would result in the colony lanes being dug up for a longer duration, thereby causing inconvenience to the residents.”
Further, Aravind Unni said that the Bill did not include a number of specific details regarding the implementation procedure. For example, building laws in Delhi are monitored by nearly 7 urban authorities. Thus, this causes confusion between different organisations as to which area falls under their jurisdiction. Not only does this affect the implementation of the regularisation bill but also delays other development related works across the city. According to both the experts, these discrepancies in the Bill can be addressed by adopting a simple approach. A separate independent body must be formed to oversee the entire process and manage all documentation. The body must consist of members from all major public organizations in the city like the DDA, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), the Public Works Department (PWD) and all municipal corporations. This will help the body in considering different aspects while making any decision related to the unauthorised colonies, thereby making the regularisation and development of these colonies hassle-free and smooth for its residents.
Lack of better fire, disaster safety measures
Even though the government will carry out development work in the unauthorised colonies, the basic infrastructure of these colonies will remain the same. Narrow lanes, insufficient parking spaces, very few or no parks will continue to be some of the problems that inhabitants of these newly legalized colonies face. Moreover, an unregulated construction plan would mean that the houses are not built according to fire safety measures and that a majority of the houses would be inaccessible for emergency services.
Dr Sanjay opined that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the government body in-charge of development in urban areas, along with the Delhi Government, can overcome this problem by adopting simple yet laborious approach. Lanes which do not support the movement of emergency vehicles must be connected directly to bigger roads. This will not only help the vehicles reach closer to the distress point but will also ease laying of different pipelines, installation of cables and streetlights. Apart from this, post the regularisation, the Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of these respective areas can also use the funds allotted to them for helping the cause of colony redevelopment.
On the other hand, Aravind suggested a rather peculiar approach. According to him, “Since, due to multiple reasons, not all colonies can be redeveloped, the government must think of newer ways to make these colonies safe in all aspects.” He suggested that instead of working towards making the roads wider, the government could just invest in building smaller fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency service vehicles. The Delhi Government’s Bike Ambulance service is one such example.
Although the bill fulfils long-standing demands of residents of unauthorised colonies, it has been formulated and passed in a hurry and seems more like a people-pleaser. According to Dr Sanjay, this is so because the bill lacks a number of basic provisions, which make the bill hollow and more likely to fail in fulfilling its aim. Moreover, once the authorities start implementing the bill, the people will realise that apart from being incomplete, the government has also set unrealistic deadlines on the tasks. Talking about the long term effects of the Bill, Aravind said that the Bill is only the first step and the government needs to continuously formulate newer policies to incorporate the unauthorized colonies in the overall development plans of Delhi. Both the Central and Delhi government need to carefully look into the intricacies of the bill and reframe deadlines while formulating newer ways of making the process inclusive of all basic necessities of the residents of unauthorised colonies.