Delhi budget: Rs 300 crore for roads, drainage in illegal colonies

With an eye on municipal polls next years, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has proposed allocation of Rs 300 crore for construction of roads and drainage system in unauthorised colonies. The government has also allocated an additional amount of Rs 190 crore for completion of other ongoing projects in these colonies.

Presenting the Budget for the financial year 2016-17, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said in order to provide basic amenities in unauthorised colonies in a time-bound manner, the Delhi government has decided to engage a single executing agency, DSIIDC, for doing all development work in these colonies. Earlier this month, this newspaper had reported that the government had authorised the DSIIDC for execution of development work in unauthorised colonies.

In a major boost, Mr Sisodia proposed that now onwards development work will be carried in all the colonies. “Till now development work were limited to 895 colonies. However, now our government has extended it to all the unauthorised colonies,” he said.

To complete the construction of roads and drainage on war-footing in coming fiscal year, the finance minister has allocated Rs 300 crore for the DSIIDC to execute these new development work in unauthorised colonies.

The finance minister promised that if required additional fund over budgetary provision will be arranged for timely completion of projects in unauthorised colonies by other executing agencies an amount of Rs 190 crore is proposed in financial year 2016-17.

On the regularisation of these unauthorised colonies, Mr Sisodia said that regulation in this regard has been redrafted and approved by the Delhi government and the Union government has been requested to notify the same. “All the unauthorised colonies, where the built up area is more than 50 per cent as on January 1, 2015, are regularised,” he added.

For rehabilitation of slum dwellers, the Delhi government has formulated a “Delhi Slum & JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation policy”. To make Delhi slum-free, Mr Sisodia said that the government has launched a massive programme for in-situ redevelopment. “In the first phase, the government has planned redevelopment and in-situ redevelopment and rehabilitation of 20 slum clusters in three Assembly constituencies on pilot basis,” he said.