Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday assured residents of colonies falling in Delhi’s O-Zone area that no demolition action would be taken against existing structures. She said the concerns raised by the Delhi High Court related only to new or ongoing construction activities.
Chairing a high-level meeting at the Delhi Secretariat, the Chief Minister reviewed issues concerning colonies located in the O-Zone, where nearly 15 lakh people live in around 91 unauthorised colonies and a dozen villages.
The meeting was attended by North East Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari, South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Trans Yamuna Area Development Board Chairman and MLA Arvinder Singh Lovely, Chief Secretary Rajeev Verma, Municipal Corporation of Delhi Commissioner Sanjeev Khairwar and senior officials of the Delhi Development Authority and other departments.
According to officials, residents of several O-Zone colonies had grown apprehensive after authorities installed signboards warning against unauthorised construction. Public representatives at the meeting said that after examining court orders and government records, they had concluded that completed structures were not under threat and that the High Court’s directions pertained only to fresh or ongoing construction.
Later, addressing a joint press conference, BJP MPs Manoj Tiwari and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri sought to reassure residents of O-Zone colonies and villages. They said no existing houses, old villages or regularised colonies would be demolished.
The MPs accused the Aam Aadmi Party of spreading fear over the issue. They said concerns among nearly 15 lakh residents living in over 90 colonies and several villages along the Yamuna had intensified following recent developments related to the O-Zone.
However, they maintained that only new and ongoing construction activities were under scrutiny and that existing inhabited areas faced no threat.
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Remembering Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia
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