Rahul Gupta was 21 when he applied for a plot of land with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). Today he is 53, and still waiting.
It is not that he was not allotted a plot but he is still to get possession. There are about 55,000 people who are still to get possession of their plots.
After trying everything, from going to the lower court to the high court and even winning his case against the DDA, Gupta hit upon a novel idea.
He thought of shaming the agency, dubbed by the CAG as the most corrupt, by approaching the Guinness Book of World Records. Will the DDA hold the record of not giving possession of a plot/house to eligible allottees for 33 years?
Guinness officials are crosschecking facts with the DDA to find out if the agency has surpassed all records.
"DDA's scheme under which we were allotted the plots will complete 33 years this Friday," Gupta said. "And what else could be a better gift to this land owning agency than the world record title?"
When the high court ruled in Gupta's favour, the agency told the court that he would soon get possession of his plot. He was one of the 82,386 applicants who enrolled in the DDA's scheme in 1981.
Till 2007, the agency allotted plots to some 55,000 people. Many of the original applicants have grown old and some have even died. Their families are now waiting for the DDA to given them their due.
In 2009, DDA told the Delhi high court that it would complete the allotments in two phases within three years. "But when nothing moved till 2011, we went to court again. But our plots are nowhere in sight," Somesh Lal said. Lal's father Kishan who passed away at 71 last year has been allotted a plot according to DDA records.
In a letter to Gupta, Guinness officials have said it would take six weeks to complete its findings.
Guinness officials had approached the agency, seeking details. "There is no question of a record being created or broken. There has been a delay from our end. It is for the court to decide now," DDA spokesperson Nemo Dhar said.
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