New Delhi: AAP legislator Somnath Bharti on Monday claimed that people in Delhi are being made to pay hefty bribes for the registration of their property under the PM-Uday scheme and demanded a probe by the CBI. Addressing a press conference, the AAP MLA alleged large-scale corruption in the implementation of the scheme and targeted Delhi LG V K Saxena, saying its entire responsibility goes on to him as he heads the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). There was no immediate reaction either from the DDA or the LG Office to the AAP legislator's allegations.
Bharti also trained guns at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused the BJP of "fooling and cheating" people of the Delhi, claiming that it will take 160 years to extend the benefit of the PM-Uday scheme to all the property owners in 1,731 identified unauthorised colonies (UCs) in Delhi with the pace ownership rights are being conferred to them.
"The government has provided a rate list for the registration of properties under the scheme. If the size of the property is less than 100 sq m, then it would cost Rs 800. If it is more than 100 sq m but less than 250 sq m, it would cost Rs 1000," the AAP MLA said. However, a person who had his property size 45 sq m was charged Rs 3,000 while it should have cost him Rs 800 only, he claimed.
"But the bigger scam is that even after shelling out Rs 3,000, many people's work is not done. The DDA is demanding a minimum Rs 1 lakh extra," he alleged, demanding a CBI probe into it.
When the PM-Uday scheme was launched in 2019, the prime minister and the BJP had promised to provide ownership rights to all the residents of 1,731 unauthorised colonies. Big hoardings with photographs of PM Modi had also been put up across Delhi to advertise the measure.
Out of 8 lakh houses in 1,731 identified unauthorised colonies, however, just 15,000 houses have so far been registered under the PM-Uday scheme in Delhi, he claimed.
"With the pace, the ownership rights are being given, it will take 160 years to cover all the beneficiaries," he said, accusing the BJP of "cheating and betraying" the people of Delhi.
"If you call those who managed to get their property registered under the scheme so far, you will hear from at least 14,990 people that they have paid bribes ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh rupees," he alleged, saying the entire responsibility of this goes to LG Saxena as he heads the DDA. Bharti said that he will raise the issue at an upcoming meeting of the Authority on September 14 and seek "answers" from the LG.
