Policy framed to allot land to artisans : AAP govt tells HC

New Delhi: The AAP government on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that a draft policy has been framed and approved to provide a temporary site to the artisans who come to the national capital to make and sell idols or effigies for Durga puja, Dussehra and other festivals.

The policy was placed before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar, who told the government and the concerned municipal corporations to identify the temporary sites and to notify the locations.

Apart from that, the court issued directions to other civic bodies to ensure facilities like water, toilets and electricity is available at the site identified for the artisans to do their work. 

With the direction, the bench listed the matter for further hearing on July 20. 
The policy, framed by the government after holding meetings with the corporations and other civic bodies, lays down the modalities for utilising the land identified for use by the artisans.

The new guidelines state that artisans must register with the corporations two months before the start of the work and once a site is allotted it would be for only two months. 
After expiry of period of allotment, the artisans must vacate the site. Under the policy, there is a registration fee of Rs 500 per applicant and usage charges of Rs 5 per square feet per month.

If the number of applicants exceeds the land available, then registrations would be granted on first-come-first-serve basis, the document said and added that the artisans must ensure there is no pollution of any kind at the site allotted to them.

The policy document was placed before the court as it had in May this year pulled up the Delhi government for not taking a decision on where they will be provided land for the artisans to make and sell their idols and effigies of Ravana. 

The court was hearing a PIL initiated by it on its own after it came across a news report saying that several Ravana effigies, built by artisans who came here from Rajasthan for Dussehra, were destroyed or confiscated by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation for allegedly encroaching on public land.

In September 2017, it had asked the Delhi government and the corporation to formulate a policy for allocating land to the artisans to do their work. The court had said that the plan would also consider providing temporary housing and sanitary facilities to the workers.