The Delhi government has green-lighted the acquisition of 2.5 acres of land, located in an unauthorised colony in West Delhi’s Uttam Nagar, for a hospital.

This is the first time the government has acquired land in an unauthorised colony, setting the stage for similar projects in such colonies across Delhi.

Sources said the government had completed all the formalities to buy the plot of land for the construction of a 200-bed hospital. Uttam Nagar MLA Mukesh Sharma said, “With this decision, dream is now becoming reality. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had promised this in 2008 and residents of the colony can finally hope for the kind of development taking place in other colonies of Delhi.”

With assembly elections just months away and close to 40 lakh residents living in unauthorised colonies, the Congress-led government is likely to green-light such projects across the capital.

An official said, “Besides easing norms to ensure the approval of projects in unauthorised colonies, the government may also acquire more land in such settlements, where government land is not available for basic amenities like schools and hospitals.”

Sources said the 2.5-acre plot was acquired for a little more than Rs 1.35 crore and that the Delhi Development Authority had approved the hospital.

Along with the food security scheme, the Congress government in Delhi has pinned its hopes on the regularisation of unauthorised colonies to secure victory in the assembly elections.

In 2008, Dikshit had distributed provisional regularisation certificates to over 1,600 unauthorised colonies. Recently, the government notified the regularisation of at least 1,200 colonies. The regularisation process was expedited after the Congress suffered a crushing defeat in the municipal body elections in April last year.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-a-first-unauthorised-colony-land-acquired-for-hospital-by-delhi-govt/1160056/