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Saturday, September 16, 2006

Sarbajit puts Delhi Govt in "legal fix"

Govt in legal fix
NIDHI SHARMA
[ 14 Sep, 2006 0013hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

NEW DELHI: Traders may be invading Town Hall with requests for giving more roads the commercial tag, but there's some bad news.

Attempts to save the capital from the sealing drive have hit a legal hurdle as Delhi government is unable to figure out under which Act it should formally notify 1,979 streets as commercial, mixed land use and pedestrian shopping streets.

MCD's standing committee had approved change of land use of these streets on Monday and forwarded the resolution to Delhi government for notification. The land use has to be changed under the new mixed land use regulations in Master Plan 2001, notified last week by the Union urban development ministry.

The government, however, is struggling. The file is still with the urban development department and officials are finding it difficult to find a legally sound way out.

Their predicament is that Delhi government cannot change the land use under Delhi Municipal Corporation Act.

According to sources, Delhi urban development minister A K Walia held meetings with principal secretary (law) B S Mathur on Tuesday and Wednesday but was told that Delhi government had no legal backing to change the land use of the streets as this pertains to land, a subject under the purview of the Centre.

The government has to frame a notification and send it for lieutenant-governor B L Joshi's approval. The notification has to be done under an Act. According to law department sources, the only sound legal option is to notify change of land use under Delhi Development Act 1957.

Constitutional expert Sarbajit Roy, who has also challenged the ministry's notification in the high court, said: "The land use regulations can be changed only by DDA and there is a set procedure for this. The Act clearly specifies that the regulations need to be put before the two Houses of Parliament."

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