 "Vinai Kumar Saxena")
Invoking his powers under Rule 19(5) of the Transaction of Business of the GNCTD Rules (ToBR), 1993, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has ordered to recall from the Home Department all such files that are pending for more than a month at the level of the Minister (Home), i.e. Manish Sisodia, an official statement from LG Office said on Sunday.
The said Rule 19(5) of the ToBR, empowers the LG to recall files pending inordinately with Ministers / CM, in public interest. This rule forces the Government to send files to the LG, irrespective of whether they approved it or not, it said.
Accusing the Delhi government led by Arvind Kejriwal, the Governor said that these files have been pending for years together due to "inaction" on part of the AAP Government.
"These files have been inexplicably pending for years together due to inaction on part of the AAP Government although all statutory requisite formalities, procedures, and permissions have been put in place, with regard to the removal of unauthorized religious structures erected by land grabbers after 2009, when the Supreme Court barred any further occupation by such structures and ordered for their removal," the LG office said in a statement.
A body viz "Religious Committee'' was formed in 2014 in pursuance of the SC judgment, to consider and recommend the removal of such unauthorized religious structures upon receipt of the request by the concerned land-owning agency.
The Committee is headed by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act (GNCTD) Home Secretary and comprises senior representatives from the Delhi Police and the land-owning agencies in Delhi.
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"Despite the recommendations of the Religious Committee, to remove "unauthorized religious structures" that have held up several key developmental infrastructure projects in Delhi, the Home Department of the Delhi Government headed by Manish Sisodia has kept 78 such proposals from various agencies pending since May 2022, prompting Lt. Governor, VK Saxena to recall these files," the LG office said.
It further said that the proposals for the removal of unauthorized religious structures pertain to the construction of the Delhi - Saharanpur Expressway, government residential flats under General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) at 0 locations pending since 2018, and the decongestion of 77 corridors.
"Decongestion of the 77 corridors, which is pending for almost 5 years since 2017 due to the inaction of the Delhi Government, is extremely critical for smooth traffic flow and mitigation of air pollution in the Capital. At the same time, the Delhi - Saharanpur Expressway, which is a part of the Delhi - Dehradun Expressway, is a time-bound project being monitored at the PMO level and has been pending since 2018," it stated in the statement.
On December 16 in 2022, the Home Department even wrote to Manish Sisodia requesting him to approve and forward these cases to the LG, but the files are still pending, the LG claimed.
As per the note of the Home Department submitted to the LG, the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had submitted a proposal for the removal of 53 unauthorized religious structures for the construction of the government residential flats under GPRA.
Out of this, the religious committee recommended the removal of 51 such structures. Similarly, the religious committee had received proposals for the removal of 20 unauthorized religious structures on the 77 corridors, out of which 15 were recommended for removal. Also, the religious committee recommended the removal of 09 out of the 23 unauthorized religious structures that were creating hurdles in the construction of the six-lane access-controlled Delhi - Saharanpur Expressway.
"Various other proposals have been recommended by the Religious Committee. These files have been submitted to the Hon'ble Minister (Home), GNCT of Delhi for further approval of the Hon'ble Lt. Governor, Delhi...Hon'ble Minister (Home) has been requested on December 16 2022, to forward the cases to Hon'ble LG for approval of the recommendations of the Religious Committee. However, the cases are still pending," the Home Department note read.
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