A day after the Capital’s 895 unauthorised colonies were approved for regularisation, the Delhi High Court today decided to hear tomorrow a plea for restraining the government from taking any final decision on the issue.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, before whom the matter was listed today, posted the matter for hearing tomorrow. “List the matter for hearing tomorrow as none appeared for respondents (Centre, Delhi government and the DDA),” the bench said, while hearing the plea of H R Suri, an architect and town planner, filed through counsel Anil Aggarwal. In his petition, Suri said, “This court is yet to decide his plea questioning the power of the Centre, the city government and the DDA to regularise the unauthorised colonies and the city government can not take a decision on a subjudice matter.”
The petition sought a direction to “restrain all the respondents from making any declaration or pass any order or give any direction regarding regularisation of unauthorised colonies in the NCT of Delhi in any manner and by any means during pendency of the petition.” The petition referred to a recent media report on Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s promises to regularise 917 unauthorised colonies soon. ”
In case, the respondents succeed in their plans and designs to illegally regularise unauthorised colonies, not only this would perpetuate illegality but will also render the petition futile and will frustrate the endeavour of the petitioner,” the petition said.
The city Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna’s nod has come yesterday for regularisation of 895 out of 917 colonies. Following the LG’s direction, the Delhi government has asked all the three municipal corporations to take the help of professional architects to make layout plans.
