DDA May Use Drone Technology For Delhi Master Plan 2041

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) may experiment with drones to survey the city ahead of planning the Delhi Master Plan 2041. Union Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that it is totally up to the state to decide on the kind of technology they should use, to check unauthorised colonies or illegal construction. The Delhi government had surveyed one such unauthorised colony, Vikas Vihar to study its boundary and delineate it. Now, the DDA has invited request for proposal (RFP) to undertake a detailed aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone-captured geographic information system (GIS) mapping of existing land use and building use in the city. 

Authorities are also in the process of delineating the boundaries of unauthorised colonies and uploading maps on DDA's website. Parliament had passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Bill, 2019, which aims at granting ownership rights to over eight lakh families residing in Delhi's 1,731 illegal colonies. 

Puri had introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha on November 26, 2019, to set up a legal framework for regularising unauthorised colonies in Delhi. The Bill was passed in the lower house on November 28, 2019. 

The Bill states that the ownership rights will be given on the basis of power of attorney, agreement of sale, will, possession letter or any other documents, including papers evidencing payment of consideration through a conveyance deed or authorisation slip. The owner has to pay stamp duty and registration charges on the amount mentioned in the conveyance deed or authorisation slip, it states. On November 20, 2019, the Union Cabinet had approved the Bill. 

Earlier, the DDA launched a portal to facilitate the regularization process. 

DDA Welcomes Suggestions From RWA Presidents, On Boundary Delineation Of Unauthorised Colonies

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has uploaded the maps of 800 unauthorised colonies on its official website while the boundaries of 1,300 unauthorised colonies have been delineated so far. In order to ensure smooth functioning, the Authority has welcomed the resident welfare association presidents of those colonies that share a common boundary to raise their doubts or suggest improvements within 15 days of uploading the delineated maps on the official website.

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The centre, on March 7, 2019, had approved a proposal to constitute a committee, under the chairmanship of Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal, to recommend a process to confer ownership or transfer rights to residents of unauthorised colonies in the national capital. In a press conference held in the national capital in July this year, union minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said that the centre had sent across a cabinet note based on the report tabled by the Baijal-led committee to all the concerned stakeholders. The 10-man panel had representatives from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Union Housing Ministry, the Delhi Secretariat and the three municipal corporations.

Authorities are expecting feedback on the report and soon, on approval of the cabinet, Delhi’s 1,797 unauthorised colonies will be writ with a new fate. Property owners in these areas will thereafter be able to sell their property, loans will become available while civic amenities such as water and electricity will also be supplied to these areas.

Role of the committee

The panel was meant to suggest a process and mechanism for conferring or recognising rights of ownership or transfer or mortgage to the residents of unauthorised colonies and consequential benefits. It will also recommend measures, including revision, if any, in urban planning and development control norms, to ensure redevelopment for improving living conditions in these colonies. The panel will recommend the roles and responsibilities of all agencies concerned.

It had also been asked to suggest a methodology for conferment of ownership or transfer rights to residents including eligibility and conditions for regulation of the beneficiaries.

The 10-member panel will also set out the procedure and timelines and terms for granting and recognising of such rights, besides providing a definitive time-frame for completing this exercise.

Exceptions

Unauthorised pockets in the upmarket Anant Ram Dairy, Mahendru Enclave and Sainik Farms may not stand to gain with the authorities’ decision and neither will those get any land ownership rights if their property has been developed on a forest land, ridge and the Yamuna floodplains or those within restricted zone near monuments preserved by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).