Today Tehkhand project was auctioned (750 premium and
3500 slum resettlement flats on 14.5 ha of District
Park), for paltry 450 cr I was told in the afternoon.
Yesterday a writ petition (Rajinder Singh & Anr v/s
Union of India & Ors) was filed praying for quashing
of land use change notification for Tehkhand,
declaring the project and auction illegal and contrary
to law, and restraining respondents (UoI-MoUD, GNCTD,
MCD and the Authority of DDA) from implementing
MPD-2021 proposals before approval and notification.
Also yesterday the project / policy was re-affirmed at
the DUAC jamboree:
http://www.hindu.com/2006/04/26/stories/2006042617790400.htm
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=179604
(speech-writers of the minister got DUAC mandate and
slum population wrong; but at least we got the right
minister: I have reply from MUD to my RTI query about
whether or not Mr Maken has charge of Delhi Division,
saying some thing to the effect that he is only
conduit for referring some matters to the Minister)
Today Tehkhand auction end coincided with start of
demolition near pushta from where RTI matters asking
also about Tehkhand are pending in CIC in complaint of
January and subsequent second appeals with urgent
hearing prayers. (there was a related eviction in
uttranchal yesterday and from pushta two days before)
I noticed last week with deep disgust that CIC gave
immediate hearing on complaint of Aruna Roy and
Shekhar Singh about info sought from PMO in 48 hours
because Medha Patkar was on hunger strike. recall
Patkar was supporting VP Singh & ors supporting
Tehkhand, in name also of Pushta, and also Shekhar
Singh & ors supporting Aravali Biodiversity Park,
which Pushta MP Ajay Maken visited day before and for
which Lalkhet was evicted to Bawana, where children
had died after pushta-2004. Patkar favoured Narmada
over Yamuna to hunger strike for and CIC favoured the
Patkar *satyagraha* over imminent submergence as
grounds for urgency of complaint of Roy & Singh.
Pushta is again being offered Bawana and being
bulldozed without hearing. The way the private-limited
company of bigwigs plays satyagrahis and
eminent-experts in public-interest reduces independent
private grievance redress and accountability options
to mere instruments for recording dissent (which is no
small mercy, as the private limited company also owns
the dissent space in public-interest). It is playing
dream-team amidst the Delhi demolitions that, btw, are
no ordinary havoc - the capital is under siege, being
driven back against the wall, into submission before
the Mission to install USAID-made law.
The Tehkhand auction is an important milestone that
the advancing Mission crossed today. The aggressive
antics of public-interest noise-making bigwigs that
media reported and the quiet crisis of confidence that
non-adversarial ordinary private citizens conveyed
today from pushta and from Tehkhand auction captured
the war-zone with sobering clarity.
- gita
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