DDA doesn’t know how much land it owns

CAG audit revealed shortages in land vis-à-vis the area reported by DDA in its records.

GN Bureau | January 19, 2017


#Delhi government   #land management   #Delhi development authority   #DDA   #CAG  
Master plan for Delhi - 2021
Master plan for Delhi - 2021

DDA had no consolidated information/database in respect of land acquired and utilised for various schemes as well as vacant land in hand, said the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in a report.
 
The CAG report on land management in Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said that the information relating to vacant land lying with DDA and acquired land during 2010-11 to 2014-15 provided by different wings of DDA was at variance. Further, joint inspection carried out by audit revealed shortages in land vis-à-vis the area reported by DDA in its records.
 
The report said that Delhi, being a city state and also the capital of the country with an area of 1,483 sq km and a population of 1.67 crore (as per census 2011), has a great need for planned development to make it a world class city. Further, with the explosive growth of population, the importance of providing necessary infrastructure in a reasonable time and effective manner cannot be overstated.
 
The Delhi Development Act, 1957 (DD Act) enacted by the central government in 1957 provides that the objective of the DDA shall be to promote and secure the development of Delhi according to the Master Plan. Thus, DDA is responsible for acquisition and development of land for various developmental schemes as per the Master Plan approved by the Central Government. The land is acquired through Delhi Government and placed at the disposal of DDA for development purposes as approved under the various development schemes.
 
 
The CAG report said that budget estimates of land acquisition, development and disposal were not prepared on a realistic basis keeping in view actual receipt/ expenditure.
 
Also, monitoring and periodical review of Master Plan of Delhi (MPD)-2021 was not conducted as prescribed in the Master Plan. The monitoring unit set up in August, 2007 was not provided with modern data processing facilities and other necessary resources required for carrying out the task.
 
MPD-2021 had envisaged alternative options for development of areas identified for urbanization in MPD-2021 through involvement of the private sector in land assembly and development. For this purpose, a land pooling policy was approved by the Central Government in September, 2013, but due to lack of coordination between DDA and Delhi Government, on pre requisite formalities such as declaration of development areas, the policy has not been operationalised yet (October 2016).
 
There was lack of coordination between DDA and Delhi government in acquisition proceedings, release of compensation/ enhanced compensation, receipt of land from Delhi government, reconciliation of accounts and proper utilisation of funds by Delhi government, which resulted in non-reconciliation of compensation amount between DDA and Delhi government, non-receipt of utilisation certificate from Delhi government, non-receipt of land even after release of full payment and double payment of enhanced compensation.
 
The CAG report went on to say that there was delay in completion of land acquisition process. Time taken for release of compensation to Delhi government, after receipt of demand from Delhi government, ranges from seven month to more than eight years. Further, the time taken for transfer of land to user departments (or non-transfer of land up to October 2016), after taking possession of land from Delhi Government, ranged from one month to more than nine years.
 
 

Comments

 

Other News

How to become Gandhi: A new book chronicles an experiment

Becoming Gandhi: Living the Mahatma`s 6 Moral Truths in Immoral Times By Perry Garfinkel Simon & Schuster India, 264 pages, Rs 699

Saga of ‘An Ordinary Man’: Gandhi’s struggle, retold in his own words

I Am an Ordinary Man: India’s Struggle for Freedom (1914–1948) Edited by Gopalkrishna Gandhi Aleph, 456 pages, Rs 999

“Essence of Gandhiji’s Teachings”: Rajaji’s Homage to the Mahatma

Selected Works of C. Rajagopalachari: Vol. VIII, 1946–48 By Ravi K. Mishra and Narendra Shukla (Editors) Orient BlackSwan, 460 pages, Rs 2,575

‘Gandhi’s Spiritual Politics: Austerity, Fasting and Secularism’

On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, renowned academic publishers Sage have opened access to many notable articles and essays on the Father of the Nation. Here we reproduce an excerpt from one of them, well-known historian Amar Farooqui’s highly original and detailed article in

Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav, Technology & Bharatiya Bhasha Summit launched

Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan Saturday launched the Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav and inaugurated the two-day Technology & Bharatiya Bhasha Summit in New Delhi. The summit aims to facilitate a seamless transition from the current education ecosyst

India retains 40th rank in the Global Innovation Index 2023

India has retained the 40th rank out of 132 economies in the Global Innovation Index 2023 rankings published by the World Intellectual Property Organization. India has been on a rising trajectory, over the past several years in the Global Innovation Index (GII), from a rank of 81 in 2015 to 40 in 2023. Inn

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter