/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24016885/STK093_Google_04.jpg)
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24808816/Starfield__The_Settled_Systems___Supra_Et_Ultra_____Starfield__The_Settled_Systems___Supra_Et_Ultra_2023_7_25_94252.263_1440p_streamshot.png)
New Delhi: The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry told the Rajya Sabha on Monday that no house has been demolished by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to beautify the city for the G20 summit. Over the past few months, several structures, including religious ones, have been demolished in the national capital as authorities launched an anti-encroachment drive in various areas. Delhi is hosting the G20 summit in September.
“DDA has informed that no house has been demolished to beautify the city for the G20 summit,” Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishor said in a written reply to a question asked by RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Kumar Jha. Jha had asked whether houses in New Delhi have been demolished by the DDA to beautify the city for the G20 summit.
However, identification and removal of encroachments on Government/DDA land is an ongoing activity, said Kishor. The Minister said that a Special Task Force (STF) under the chairmanship of DDA Vice Chairman has been constituted on April 25, 2018 to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Master Plan of Delhi 2021 and the Unified Building Bye-laws for Delhi.
cre trending stories
“The STF identifies and receives complaints of unauthorized encroachments, illegal constructions and violation of building bye-laws and thereafter directs the concerned urban local bodies to take appropriate action in the matter on a continuous basis,” he added.
The minister said that the DDA has carried out 49 demolition programs in Delhi since April 1, in which an area of 229.137 acres has been reclaimed. In February, an anti-encroachment drive was launched in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park area, leading to protests by several residents and a political slugfest in the national capital.
Last month, a demolition drive was carried out to remove illegal structures in a slum near Pragati Maidan. Earlier this month, authorities removed a temple and a mazaar in Delhi’s Bhajanpura.
Notices have also been sent to a mosque in Bengali Market area and a mosque near Pragati Maidan metro station, asking them to remove encroachments within 15 days. Recently, the Delhi government has set a July 31 deadline for agencies to complete the ongoing repair work on roads, parks, flyovers and underpasses for the G-20 summit.
