Illegal colonies: Govt moves with caution

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday said her government is treading “carefully yet expeditiously” while confirming amnesty given to 1,239 illegal colonies after a government probe found the process was ridden with fraud.

Newsline last Friday reported probe findings by Divisional Commissioner Vijay Dev that Urban Development officials broke rules in granting provisional the amnesty in 2008,and that the fraud called for a criminal probe.

Dikshit told Newsline on Monday,“I held a meeting with top officials of all the departments concerned and instructed them to verify eligibility of all the colonies before approving the final amnesty.”

Dikshit said she called the meeting to understand the findings of Divisional Commissioner’s report. “Officials have today told me that the amnesty for unauthorised colonies was only provisional,” she said.