AAP seeks clearance of slum policy by Delhi L-G

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday urged lieutenant governor (L-G) Anil Baijal to approve the AAP government’s slum policy and asserted that no one should indulge in politics over the issue. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating toilet complexes in Punjabi Bagh at New Delhi, the chief minister sought to know why the L-G was sitting on the file for quite a long time.

The proposed ‘Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation’ policy of the city government ensures ‘in situ’ rehabilitation of slum dwellers. The policy has been cleared by the Delhi cabinet. “Why is the L-G sitting on the file? There should be no politics over the issue…God will not forgive those who do not allow poor people’s houses to be built,” Mr Kejriwal said. 

“I request you (L-G) with folded hands to clear the file. Once we get the approval, we will start constructing houses for slum dwellers. If the M r Baijal has any objection about the policy, I am ready to meet him,” Mr Kejriwal said. The AAP supremo on Wednesday inaugurated as many as 1,206 community toilets at 36 locations from JJ Basti near Deen Dayal Camp road in Punjabi Bagh. 

“In the past two-and-a-half years, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and other like-minded agencies had tried to demolish ‘jhuggis’ (slums), but we did not allow them to do so,” he said. The proposed slum policy of the Delhi government also promises that no jhuggis will be demolished before their occupants are rehabilitated in the city.