In parting shot,Lokayukta pulls up Cong,BJP

Reprimanding the government for announcing regularisation of unauthorised colonies before the 2008 elections,and again announcing the regularisation of colonies in 2012,the Lokayukta has sent a recommendation to President Pranab Mukherjee to “advise” the government that “sops and political promises on the eve of elections should be shunned”.

The recommendation was issued on a complaint filed by BJP leader Dr Harsh Vardhan in 2008,which had alleged that CM Sheila Dikshit had issued “provisional regularisation certificates to residents of unauthorised colonies,in violation of a 2006 Supreme Court order,“misleading the public” as the colonies could not have been regularised.

The BJP leader’s complaint had alleged that according to the apex court orders of 2006,unauthorised colonies could not be regularised until basic amenities had been provided to the colonies,but the Congress government had issued provisional certificates to the residents in several colonies and the CM had “abused her position to obtain favour of the public.”

The Delhi government had issued provisional regularisation certificates to over 1,218 unauthorised colonies ahead of Assembly polls in 2008,and had announced that it had plans to regularise 1,639 colonies. In 2012,Harsh Vardhan had again filed a supplementary complaint when the government had announced regularisation of 895 colonies.

The complaint,filed through advocate Sunita Bhardwaj,had also alleged that the announcements were a “clandestine” method to “woo voters knowing fully well that no legal status of regularisation could have been given”.

While the Lokayukta dismissed allegations of financial irregularities in the regularisation of the colonies,he has observed that the announcements were “unbecoming” of the CM,and recommended that the governments should be “advised to shun such pre-election sops and political promises”.

Arguing on behalf of the CM,advocate Mehmood Pracha had alleged that the complaint had been filed to “settle political scores”. Following the judgment,Harsh Vardhan told Newsline that his “stand had been vindicated”,as the government had not been able to legally regularise any of the colonies.

In a separate case,the Lokayukta also pulled up Gupta for allegedly signing the recommendation for giving grant to an NGO run by his wife. The ombudsman had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue after media reports had said that Gupta,as chairman of the MCD standing committee,had recommended the grant of funds to the NGO Sampoorna,which is owned by his wife. During arguments on the issue,advocate Ashok Kashyap,appearing for Gupta had argued that MCD bye-laws made it mandatory for the local corporator or MLA to certify an NGO before it can receive a grant from the government,and there had been no illegality in the recommendation.

“The issue was that corporators should not give grants to their own families,but the guidelines for grants say that the local corporator has to certify. How can we go against the rules?” Kashyap said.

While the Lokayukta in his judgment accepted that there had been no illegality in the grant of funds,he has recommended to the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi to “caution that the councillors should not clear funds for family members”.

“In the same way as judges do not hear any case relating to a family member,councillors should also send the papers for certification of funds to family members to a different corporator or MLA,” Justice Sarin said.