Government focussing on rehabilitation of slum dwellers: Hardeep Singh Puri
The Hindu
The Minister for Housing and Urban Development said the Centre has already provided alternative accommodation to the eligible people but only a few have occupied the flats and many of them have gone to court.
The Centre is committed to rehabilitating slum dwellers in Delhi and there is less than one 'jhuggi' per acre of land earmarked for their resettlement, the Centre informed the Rajya Sabha.
Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, Minister for Housing and Urban Development Hardeep Singh Puri said the Centre has already provided alternative accommodation to the eligible people but only a few have occupied the flats and many of them have gone to court.
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He said the policy of the government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi enunciated on December 11, 2017 is being followed for rehabilitation of slum dwellers.
The policy stipulates that the eligibility for rehabilitation should be there for all ' jhuggi-jhopri' and ' bastis' which came up before January 1, 2006 and those which came up before January 1, 2015 shall not be demolished before providing compensation and no new ones are allowed to come up.
"We have provided alternative accommodation to the eligible people but only a few of them have occupied the flats," he told the House, adding that many of them have moved courts and several ' jhuggi' dwellers have sought stays.
While residents are worried over deaths due to diarrhoea in Vijayawada, officials still grapple to find the root cause. Contaminated drinking water supplied by VMC officials is the reason, insist people in the affected areas, but officials insist that efforts are on to identify the disease and that those with symptoms other than diarrhoea too are visiting the health camps.