Parliament passes anti-demolition bill for Delhi

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New Delhi, March 22 : Providing relief to the inhabitants of 400 rural and 'urbanised' villages facing the civic body's demolition drive, parliament Tuesday gave its nod to a legislation affording protection to a majority of illegal constructions in these settlements of the capital.
The National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provision) Bill, moved by urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, was passed in Rajya Sabha Tuesday by voice vote but without any debate amidst din as opposition members demanded a discussion on WikiLeaks expose on alleged bribing of MPs by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to win the trust vote in 2008.
The bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha last week, extends the relief from sealing for unauthorised constructions till Dec 31 this year.
The proposed law aims to prevent sealing and demolition of a large number of illegal constructions and to maintain status quo with respect to unauthorised colonies, including village settlements and their extensions, storages and warehouses for farm produce and some other categories in the city.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) began its sealing and demolition drive against illegal constructions January this year in tune with a Supreme Court order on unauthorised commercial properties.
The drive began on expiry of the earlier ordinance promulgated for maintaining status quo in the city. The ordinance now stands replaced with a legislation.