Delhi legislators join the Games, want a home in Village

Eager to bite into the Commonwealth Games pie, Delhi MLAs tried rather sportingly to push through the demand for a high-end flat at the Games Village, that too at concessional rates.

At the Assembly on Thursday, Janata Dal leader Shoaib Iqbal first floated the proposal and asked the chief minister to allot MLAs a flat each at the complex in East Delhi. The flats — being built by realtors Emaar-MGF along with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) — have price tags starting at Rs 1.5 crore.

An hour-long banter followed, at the beginning of which Iqbal said there should be a housing colony for Delhi MLAs, and also for those who have served the Assembly at any point of time.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit admitted this had been a long-standing demand of the MLAs but the state could not move unless the members formed a society like that by Lok Sabha MPs and put in a request for land. Dikshit said this land would be allotted on a priority basis.

But MLA from Vikaspuri Mukesh Sharma pointed out that the registration of group housing societies is banned in Delhi at present. “I suggest that the MLAs be given flats at the Games Village instead — at lower rates,” he said.

All members present nodded an ‘aye’, while Sharma elaborated: “The DDA should give us the houses at the rate in which they have purchased it from Emaar-MGF. If the DDA can bail out the realtor with Rs 300 crore when it was in a financial crunch, the agency can do this for us too.”

The chief minister, however, pointed out the DDA owned only a percentage of the flats, which it planned to auction.

She put forth a counter proposal. “Either you participate in the auction or the maximum we can do is to pass a resolution for the DDA’s consideration.”

The discussion ended on a humorous note when Finance Minister A K Walia had the last word: “The Games Village is in my constituency. Imagine my plight if all 70 MLAs come to live there.”

Barring the sudden, albeit serious interest in housing, the House was otherwise abuzz with light-hearted banter. The Opposition BJP was absent, their MLAs having been expelled for three days for disrupting proceedings on Wednesday. Some did try to forcefully enter the House but were detained by the police.