L g invokes his special powers recalls files on pending infra projects

L g invokes his special powers recalls files on pending infra projects

AAP govt. keeping proposals to remove ‘unauthorised religious structures’ pending, allege Raj Niwas officials; Sisodia says removing temples a ‘sensitive’ issue, will create law and order issue

Invoking his special powers, Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has recalled files related to various pending infrastructure projects in the city due to ‘inaction on the part of the AAP government’, officials at the L-G House said on Sunday.

The matter started a fresh war of words between the L-G and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia terming the allegations as ‘baseless’.

According to Raj Niwas officials, several projects in the city have been pending since 2017. A Religious Committee, formed in 2014 after a Supreme Court verdict, has recommended removal of ‘unauthorised religious structures’ that have held up several key 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, an official said.

Some of the pending projects include completion of works on the Delhi stretch of the Delhi-Saharanpur and Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, decongestion of critical traffic corridors such as Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Dhaula Kuan-RTR Marg, Ring Road at various sites, Loni Road and Vijay Nagar-Burari stretch, and beginning of construction of General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) housing for government employees.

The L-G House officials claimed that the files were pending with the Delhi government, although all statutory requisite formalities, procedures and permissions have been put in place with regards to removal of unauthorised religious structures erected by land-grabbers after 2009, when the Supreme Court barred any further occupation by such structures and ordered for their removal.

Invoking his powers under Rule 19(5) of the Transaction of Business of the GNCTD Rules (ToBR), 1993, the L-G has ordered to recall from the Home Department all such files that are pending for more than a month at the Minister’s level, the official added.

‘Playing politics’

Responding to the allegations, Mr. Sisodia said it was ‘unfortunate’ that the L-G is choosing to ‘play politics’ over such a sensitive matter of demolishing temples and law and order.

‘Any decision over making amends to temples cannot be taken in haste, let alone allowing them to be demolished,’ he said in a statement.

‘On one hand, he [the L-G] has withheld and created hindrance in every single file of the Delhi government. On the other hand, he is accusing us of delaying files related to demolition of temples across Delhi,’ the Deputy CM said.

He asked, ‘Why is the L-G so keen to run bulldozers over temples across Delhi? So that it will create law and order problems everywhere?’

Mr. Sisodia, in his response, also raised the issue of sending 30 teachers of the Delhi government schools to Finland for a training programme. ‘It is pertinent to ask the L-G whether bulldozing temples of Delhi is more important than sending government school teachers to Finland? The file has been pending with him for months now and is making rounds of his office,’ the AAP leader added.