SC summons DDA vice-chairman Balvinder Kumar in Rohini case

The apathetic attitude of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) was exposed once again when the Supreme Court on Monday slammed the agency for not handing over plots in Rohini to 24,000 applicants for the last 34 years.

The Supreme Court on Monday summoned DDA vice-chairman Balvinder Kumar, asking him to appear before it on Tuesday and explain steps taken so far to hand over plots to the applicants.

These applicants were registrants for the middle income, low income and janta (poor) category plots of the Rohini Residential Scheme 1981. Of them, about 5,000 applicants have already died while waiting for their plot.

"You have to keep moving. You have to do something. You cannot take the hard-earned money of the people and sit on it for years," a Bench headed by Justice JS Khehar told the DDA lawyer.

Shockingly, DDA told the court that it could not meet the March 2015 deadline, the latest set by the court, for handing over 'fully developed' plots to 11,000 applicants due to "cold weather and untimely heavy rains of January, elections in Delhi and deployment of large number of DDA engineers for election duty, and stiff opposition from farmers in the neighbouring villages".

It is to be noted that the DDA had earlier told the Delhi High Court that the "plots were free from encumbrances, and there are no impediments in developing the land and handing over possession".

A large number of applicants led by Rahul Gupta were present in the courtroom. They sought stern action against the DDA, saying they were not only being given under-developed plots in violation of court orders but also undersized ones.

"Now only plots of 60 and 32 sq-metres were being made available, while initially plots of 90, 60, 48, 32 and 26 sq-metres were also floated," he said.

The applicants said they are being asked to pay the rates applicable today - that is Rs 20,350 per sq-metre and not Rs 200 per sq-metre they were offered in 1981.

The court warned the DDA against demanding the current land rate, asking "Why did you not give them the land for 34 years? You cannot arm-twist people for your own fault. You have to give land at the old rates".

Directing the DDA officials to be present in the court with all the documents, the court said it would pass detailed order on Tuesday pertaining to allotment of remaining 13,000 plots.

The plot-seekers had moved the SC after the DDA failed to honour repeated directions since 2009 of the Delhi HC to allot the plots.

The DDA had announced sale of 1,17,000 plots.

There were just 84,000 applicants then; but 25,000 are still awaiting allotments.

(Mail Today Bureau)