Political blame game in Delhi on slum removal near rail tracks

NEW DELHI: After the Supreme Court directed to remove slums along railway tracks, a political war of words in Delhi has broken out with the Congress targeting the BJP and AAP over the fate of 48,000 'jhuggis' along the tracks.

On August 31, the Supreme Court had ordered removal of around 48,000 slum dwellings along railway tracks in Delhi within three months and said no political interference will be entertained in the matter.

The Congress has blamed AAP and BJP for the crisis as Delhi Congress chief Anil Kumar Chaudhary said, "Neither BJP nor AAP cares for the poor and they are responsible for the fiasco as they are ruling at Centre and the state and now where will these people go?" There are around 2,50,000 people living in slums along the railway tracks. The Congress has moved the court again for revision of the order. Congress leader Ajay Maken, in an intervention application, said the agencies — such as the ministry of railways and Delhi government — have already initiated the process of identification and removal of jhuggis and have 'issued demolition notices' in various slums in Delhi.

The plea urged the top court to direct authorities (including the Ministry of Railways, government of NCT of Delhi and others) to rehabilitate the slum dwellers prior to eviction/demolition of their jhuggis and to follow the Delhi Slum & JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015 and the protocol (for removal of jhuggis) in letter and spirit. While BJP has attacked the Kejriwal government as its Delhi unit chiefAdesh Gupta said, "It is because of Kejriwal that the residents of these jhuggis are facing eviction as the Chief Minister has not implemented the PM housing scheme."

Delhi government and the AAP have in turn blamed the BJP for the crisis and have written to the Northern Railway Divisional Manager. The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), headed by Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal, stated in the letter that "in case of JJ (JhuggiJhopri) existing on land owned by central government agencies like the Railways, rehabilitation will have to be done by them as per the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015." (IANS)

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