DDA in court over SC reservation in housing scheme

The 8220;legality8221; of this reservation policy has been challenged by Prem Chand, a 42-year-old resident of Dilshad Garden, who has sought the High Court8217;s intervention and an interim stay on the allotment of houses under the specific reserved category for the Scheduled Castes.

In a petition, he claims the government agency had surpassed its jurisdiction by 8220;inviting applications from Scheduled Caste applicants outside the National Capital Territory8221;, without a thought for similar members of the 8220;oppressed castes8221; living in Delhi.

8220;The DDA is given definite statutory powers to engage only in planned development of Delhi and the meaning of the word 8216;development8217; cannot be construed to the extent of inviting people domiciled in Delhi to compete with people domiciled elsewhere to win a lottery on scarce housing,8221; the petition, filed through counsel K V Dhananjay, stated.

Chand, who had applied for a flat under the reserved category, termed the current allotment under the Scheduled Caste category as 8220;discriminatory8221; and devoid of any 8220;rational relation to the needs and aspirations of the people living in or domiciled in Delhi8221;.

8220;For the DDA to assume that Schedule Castes of Delhi will benefit under a scheme where they should compete with people domiciled elsewhere is fatal to the scheme,8221; he stated.