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Minister for Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad has said that the government will take a decision on the findings of the One Man Committee Of Inquiry on allotment of land made by the Land and Development office since 1998 –99 after consulting the law ministry. He was speaking to the media persons after receiving the report from Shri Yogesh Chandra, here today.
The Government of India, Ministry of Urban Development, by its Order No,.24(460)/2002-CDN/66 dated the September 15, 2004 had set up a One Man Committee of Inquiry comprising Shri Yogesh Chandra, IAS (Retd.) to examine cases of allotment of land made by the Land and Development Office since 1998-99.A large number of social, cultural, educational, religious and other institutions had been allotted land by the Land and Development Office during the last 5 – 6 years. There were allegations regarding non-adherence to prescribed norms and procedures in allotment of land in some cases. There were also cases of allotment of more than one plot of land to some organizations.
The Committee started its work on October 1, 2004 and was to submit its recommendations by December 31, 2004.The Committee has submitted its report on the examination and scrutiny of individual cases and the action to be taken in deviations identified.Out of the 225 cases placed before the Committee, in 125 cases the Land & Development Office had allotted land to the Central Government, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, other public sector undertakings and local bodies. The remaining 100 cases relate to allotments made to political parties, religious, socio-cultural bodies, schools and educational institutions.
The Committee confined its examination to cases where land has been allotted to private institutions under various dispensations. The general findings of the Committee are as follows:
1 The Committee has not made any comments in 68 cases where the allotments were in order.
2 There are 3 cases in which existing Bungalows/residential land in Lutyens’ New Delhi have been proposed for allotment, or have already been allotted, for institutional use. The Committee has observed that, in view of the great shortage of residential accommodation in New Delhi, and the need to preserve the character of the Lutyens’ Bunglow Zone, these bunglows should not have been allotted for institutional purposes,
3 In 32 cases the Committee has felt that allotments were made without due regard to the procedures and/or to the merits of the case. In many cases, proper enquiries had not been conducted before land was allotted to the parties. Such enquiries, through the administrative Ministry, are mandatory to determine the antecedents and suitability of a Society for availing highly concessional land from Government. The administrative Ministry is supposed to provide pragmatic information on the activities of the Organisation, their past record in public service, their sources of funding, whether their activities are commercial or charitable and, above all, the necessity of their setting up an office in Delhi.
4 The Committee found that in most cases, land had been allotted on the recommendations of the Minister rather than the Ministry. The Committee has observed that on this important procedure, it need to be recognised that the implications of the recommendations of the Minister are different from the recommendations of a Ministry.
5 The Committee has observed that in many cases, the Ministry of Urban Development regularized encroachment on Govt. land.
6 The Committee went into the question of the redevelopment of Minto Road/Rouse Avenue and has commented that,
(a) the change of land use primarily from residential to institutional will adversely the affect traffic flow around the Tilak Bridge/New Delhi Railway Station area,
(b) it resulted in demolition of a large number no. of flats and bungalows,
(c) that too at a time when more than 50,000 applicants were waiting for houses (beginning of 1998) and demand of the Ministry was more for residential rather than institutional accommodation.
7 In regard to the action to be taken in the cases of deviations from prescribed procedure or non-fulfillment of conditions of allotment, the Committee has commented that there can be no general action suggested on cases where deviations have been observed. On the basis of the findings of the Committee action has to be initiated on the basis of the facts and circumstances of each case separately. and after obtaining the required legal opinion.
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HRK
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