BJP eyes votes in Delhi’s unauthorised colonies but Modi govt’s property rights scheme a slow starter

BJP eyes votes in Delhi’s unauthorised colonies but Modi govt’s property rights scheme a slow starter

New Delhi: While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is eyeing the support of residents of 1,800 unauthorised colonies in Delhi to win all seven of the capital’s Lok Sabha seats for the third time, the Narendra Modi government’s special scheme to grant ownership rights to over 10 lakh households in these colonies has failed to benefit many.

Under the Prime Minister-Unauthorized Colonies in Delhi Awas Adhikar Yojana (PM-UDAY) scheme launched in December 2019, just a little over 22,000 of the 1.69 lakh applicants so far have got ownership rights of their properties.

The PM-UDAY scheme was launched ahead of the Delhi assembly elections in February 2020. For this, the Union government introduced the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Act, which was passed by Parliament in November 2019.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs then notified 1,797 unauthorised colonies, of which 1,731 were to be taken up in the first phase of the PM-UDAY scheme.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is the nodal agency for implementing the scheme. Residents are issued conveyance deeds and authorisation slips by the DDA after verification of the property documents, assessment of the built-up area, etc., based on which they can get the registration of their properties done.

The regularisation of unauthorised colonies has been a long-standing demand of residents, and an important poll promise of all political parties in Delhi. The PM-UDAY was said to be a step towards the aim.

The central government’s move was seen as a game-changer ahead of the 2020 Delhi assembly elections, potentially helping the BJP garner the support of residents of unauthorised colonies, which was once considered the Congress’ core support base that later shifted to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

But neither the BJP nor most of the residents of these colonies have benefited from the central government’s decision.

The BJP suffered a massive defeat for the second consecutive time in the 2020 assembly elections, in which it won just eight of the total 70 seats, while the AAP won 62 and formed the government for the third time.

In the past four years, the PM-UDAY scheme has received a muted response from people. According to the information available on the DDA’s website, the agency had received 1,69,190 applications till 8 March, of which 1,21,756 are pending (mostly with residents due to deficiencies in documents) and 22,121 have been issued papers for ownership. The land-owning agency has rejected 34,313 applications.

Now, ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP is focusing on the work done by the Modi government but has also assured residents of these colonies that it will work to expedite the process to grant ownership rights.

However, AAP leaders ThePrint spoke to said that they would highlight the BJP’s “failed promise” to the residents of unauthorised colonies.

For Pratap Choudhary, president, Suraj Park Residents’ Welfare Association, getting ownership right under the PM-UDAY was not difficult. He was in fact among the first 20 people to do so.

However, over four years since its launch, the situation is not the same for several other residents waiting for ownership rights under the scheme, which has been a challenging task due to stringent norms and bureaucratic hurdles.

“There was a lot of excitement among people when it was launched in 2019. But the process is really cumbersome, due to which many have lost hope. In my colony, just 40 percent of the residents have applied for it. Several applications are rejected as people don’t have all documents related to the chain of past sale/purchase of the property,” Choudhary told ThePrint.

‘DDA has done little to resolve it’

While the PM-UDAY scheme was not implemented in 60-plus “affluent” unauthorised colonies, the scheme was also put on hold in mid-2020 in around 75 colonies located along the Yamuna River.

This occurred after it was highlighted that these 75 colonies were located in the ‘O’ zone, which is earmarked as the Yamuna floodplain in the Master Plan of Delhi-2021.  Construction activities are banned in the ‘O’ zone.

Residents in lower-income group localities in south, east and northeast parliamentary constituencies, such as Jaitpur, Okhla and Badarpur in South Delhi, and Karwal Nagar in North East Delhi, among others, are unable to apply for ownership rights.

Anil Sharma, a resident of Jaitpur, who has been pursuing the matter with the DDA, told ThePrint, “Most of the people living in these colonies belong to the lower-income group. People had to spend money to get the paperwork in order and also got the survey done by the DDA-appointed agencies. But in the past four years, the DDA has done little to resolve the issue.”

In the draft Master Plan of Delhi-2041, which was placed in public domain in June 2020, measures have been proposed to address these issues.

But the MPD-2041, which is delayed by three years, is yet to be notified by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Meanwhile, some residents’ welfare associations are now making this an election issue.

Last month, a group of residents of affluent unauthorised colonies held a march in South Delhi’s Chhatarpur, demanding inclusion in the PM-UDAY scheme.

Raman Aggarwal, a resident of Sainik Farms — one of the affluent unuathorised colonies — said, “We have waited patiently for a long time. The protest march was just to remind the Modi government about its poll promise. We have been assured that it will be one of the first things to be done once they return to power.”

Regularisation still poll issue

The regularisation of unauthorised colonies has been a poll issue in every election in Delhi for nearly two decades. The Congress, which governed the city for 15 years, had promised regularisation ahead of the Delhi assembly elections in 2008. It even gave provisional regularisation certificates to 1,218 unauthorised colonies ahead of the elections in 2008.

While the decision helped the Congress secure a third term in the Delhi government, the regularisation plan remained largely on paper.

Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP candidate from South Delhi, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri — a four-time MLA and the Leader of the Opposition in Delhi assembly — last week assured residents of affluent unauthorised colonies that were left out under the Centre’s scheme that ownership rights would soon be awarded to them.

Addressing a press conference on 19 March, Bidhuri said that efforts would be made to give residents of these colonies ownership rights and regularise them in the next five years.

Speaking to ThePrint, Bidhuri said, “PM-UDAY is a revolutionary scheme. The Congress and the AAP did nothing to address the concerns of residents of these 1,700 plus colonies. It was the Modi government which gave them ownership rights.”

The four-time MLA added that the central government has taken measures to address the issue in some colonies, including the 60-plus ‘affluent’ colonies, where ownership rights are not being given due to master plan provisions.

“The necessary amendments in the master plan will be notified soon. In the next five years, we also plan to develop essential infrastructure on vacant gram sabha land in these colonies,” he told ThePrint.

However, the AAP leaders ThePrint spoke to said they would highlight the BJP’s “failure” to fulfil its poll promise.

The AAP candidate from West Delhi, Mahabal Mishra — a Purvanchali leader and former West Delhi MP — said that the BJP has tried to mislead the people of Delhi through the PM-UDAY scheme.

“The scheme has been a failure, and it is evident from the number of people who have got ownership. The ownership is being given only for the built-up portion and not for the vacant plot. There are people who have constructed only a portion of the plot. If they want to give ownership rights, then it should be for the entire plot or property,” Mishra told ThePrint.

“There are many loopholes in the scheme and we will highlight it during our campaign,” added Mishra, whose constituency has a large number of unauthorised colonies.

(Edited by Richa Mishra)