DDA clears prime property of illegal occupants

The Delhi Development Authority today cleared a prime property worth Rs 500 crore in central Delhi of "illegal" occupants, two months after the Supreme Court authorised the land owning agency to take over it.
The delay in the action prompted Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, who is the Chairman of DDA, to direct its Chief Vigilance Officer to probe the "angle of collusion" of officials and bring the culprits to book.
However, in a meeting with Jung, the land-owning agency -- for lack of time -- could not take up the issue pertaining to allotment of land for a party office, sources said.

"It was on the agenda but could not be reached. The main issues that were taken up were Unified Building Bylaws and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) regulation for Delhi," the source said.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted in the morning, "Shud land meant for govt school be allotted 2 BJP to open their office? LG to decide this today. Do v need more schools or more BJP offices?"
In a statement, the LG office said DDA acted against the illegal possession on Jung's directions. The said property, with a total built up area of approximately 1,20,000 sq ft, is located at Central Delhi's Jhandewalan area.

The Chief Legal Advisor and other senior officers of the DDA, in the presence of senior officers of Delhi Police, took over the possession of the entire building on site, the statement said.
"One of the Directors of the Company that had occupied the property formally handed over the possession of the entire premises to the team of DDA officers. Despite the Apex Court orders, the property was in illegal possession for about 2 months.
"The Lt Governor Jung has directed Chief Vigilance Officer, DDA to inquire and fix responsibility of delinquent officers within a week so that strict action is taken against those found guilty. LG has particularly asked the CVO to probe the angle of collusion," it said.