Govt to acquire land to build amenities

NEW DELHI: After regularizing around 900-odd colonies, Delhi government's urban development department is now working on a policy to acquire land in these colonies to build amenities like schools, dispensaries, parks, electric transformers, police posts etc.
As per the regularization norms, a 'regularized colony' must have a layout plan that gives details of the number of schools, dispensaries, parks etc in the colony vis-à-vis its population.However, as these colonies were unplanned and regularized decades after coming up, government is now struggling to find land to build these amenities. "It is very important for us to bring these colonies at par with regularized colonies. Therefore, we are looking for vacant or under used land in these areas for acquisition to build amenities," said a senior government officer. He also said that as per the norms, a school can only be built in at least one acre area. Similarly, for building other amenities the land needed can't be less than one acre.
Urban development minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said, "Work on roads and sewer has already started and very soon we will find space to built schools, dispensaries etc as well." He also said most of these colonies already have electric transformers and children here have access to schools.
Eying Assembly polls 2013, CM Sheila Dikshit had announced regularization of 900 unauthorized colonies this year, a key promise made by Congress ahead of Assembly polls in 2008.
A govt official said to bring these colonies at par with other regularized colonies they are looking for vacant or under-used land to build amenities.