The decision of the government to extend the deadline for filing applications for regularisation of illegal structures to January 23, 2017 makes sense. Elections are due to be announced any time now and the code of conduct will kick in making it impossible for the government to act on the applications. It would have been counterproductive for the government to start the process of scrutiny only to stop it when the code of conduct becomes effective. This means, the fate of the applicants now rests in the hands of the new government. We had always maintained that regularising of illegal structures was not proper as it put those who took the trouble of following the law at a disadvantage. It also throws a question mark over whether adhering to the law is worthwhile.
