[Regularisation of Sainik Farms] Delhi High Court asks authorities to make their stand clear

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the authorities including South Delhi Municipal Corporation to make their stand clear on the issue of regularisation of Delhi’s Sainik Farms neighbourhood..A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla said that either the authorities have to come and say that the neighbourhood is illegal, therefore, should be demolished or it should decide to regularise the same. .Addressing the Central Government’s Standing Counsel, Anurag Ahluwalia, the bench said that the issue cannot be kept in limbo.“If you are wanting to regularise then we will say what is the solution. You cannot keep this in limbo. There are hundreds of thousands of houses there and you are not permitting them to even do the repair work. Who will take the responsibility,” the court asked.As Ahluwalia said that he will take up the matter with the highest authorities, the Court asked why there should be discrimination against Sainik Farms considering the fact that many illegal colonies in the national capital have been regularised.“You have not even conducted a survey as to whether they are occupying the government land, forest land or agriculture land. Please tell us if there is any unauthorised occupation of government or forest land. If that is the situation, please tell us which is that area. To that extent, we may understand that there is an issue with regularisation,” it said..The Court then said that it will pass the orders in this regard..The Court was dealing with a 2015 petition filed by the Ramesh Dugar, convener of area development committee Sainik Farm. The petition sought regularisation of the neighbourhood. .The Sainik Farms is an upscale affluent neighbourhood in South Delhi. It came up in the 1960s and mostly housed retired Army Officers. However, it has also been embroiled in controversy as questions have been raised over whether the lush green neighbourhood is built on forest or government land.The Delhi High Court had passed several strictures earlier in this regard and the area has been dubbed the 'Republic of Sainik Farms' by many as it is supposed to have its own electricity, water supply lines and security..Today, an application was also filed in the High Court by the residents of Delhi’s Sangam Vihar area claiming that they are a population of nearly four laks and the shortest way for their link to rest of Delhi is through Sainik farms but they are not allowed to enter its roads because various gates have been installed by the Sainik farm residents.The Court however, declined to entertain the application asking the counsel to file a separate petition..The neighbourhood was also in the news recently over the demolition in North Delhi Jahangirpuri area. During the course of hearing before the Supreme Court, Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave had questioned the municipal authorities’ ‘high-handed” approach in poor neighbourhoods but their complete silence on Sainik Farms and Golf Link which are allegedly situated only on encroached land.