Digital map of illegal colonies in Delhi to be uploaded by Dec 31: Hardeep Puri

Lok Sabha on Thursday took up discussion on a bill to confer ownership rights to over 40 lakh people residing in unauthorised colonies in Delhi with Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri stating 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, Puri said a portal had been created for digital maps and another will be put in place by the middle of next month for people to upload their documents.

Puri said Delhi had a population of 8 lakh in 1947 which grew to 20 lakh in 1950 when the first census took place. He said the population of the national capital and its neighbouring areas could be around 2 crore when census takes place in 2021.

The minister said his father also came to Delhi as a refugee after partition.

Puri said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government was laying thrust on urban renewal and more than 1.12 crore houses will be built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana to fulfill the mission of `Housing for All' by 2022.

Referring to Delhi, he said some "half-hearted" steps were made in 2008 during Congress rule about unauthorised 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.

He said Delhi government was to delineate the unauthorised colonies but "half-hearted attempts were made" and the Arvind Kejriwal-led government informed that it needed time till 2021 for the task.

He said "nothing would have happened" till 2021 and the Narendra Modi government took a decision to do take steps to provide relief to people.

He said the plot size in illegal colonies was small and work on digital mapping will be completed by December 31 this year.

"The maps are being uploaded on a new website. We are not going only by satellite data, we are putting boundaries. The RWA (Resident Welfare Associations) will be given 15 days to respond," he said.

Puri went on to mention that around 300 digital maps have already been uploaded. He said individuals who can show evidence of their residing in these colonies can apply "in the second part".

"My date for this is December 16. All people deprived of conferment rights can apply for registration," he said.

He said the number of people in the over 1700 unauthorised colonies being regularised could be as high as 50 lakhs.

( With inputs from ANI )