Govt seeks to cancel lease of 18 plots

The Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party government has written to the Union urban development minster to cancel the lease of 18 plots to private firms, and asked the ministry to return the land — estimated to be about 50 acres — to the city administration for construction of hospitals and dispensaries.

According to a government official, city’s health and PWD minister Satyendra Jain had recently written to Union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu urging him to revoke the lease of about 18 plots in the national capital allotted by the Delhi Development Authority ( DDA) to private firms for construction of hospitals. “These plots were given to the private utilities some 15 to 44 years ago.”

The official said that the construction utilities were to use the land for construction of hospitals, which was supposed to be started within 3 years of allotments. “But no construction has been done till date on any of these 18 sites.”

Mr Jain in his letter has noted that the DDA, which is the city’s land- owing agency, was supposed to cancel the lease if construction was not done in stipulated period. He further requested Mr Naidu to hand over the land to the state government for construction of hospitals and dispensaries.

The official also noted that the Delhi government had earlier sent two letters to the DDA in this regard, and the total land in question was approximately 50 acres.

Emphasising that the issues was a “clear case of land- hoarding,” the official said that precious land was allotted in prime localities of the national capital to “non- serious” entities.

Mr Jain had recently stated that the government plans to revamp the existing health- care infrastructure of the national capital.