AAP did nothing for residents of slums under its watch: Union min Puri

Puri’s attack on the AAP came amid a heated war of words between the BJP and the AAP ahead of the municipal corporation polls, scheduled for December 4.

Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government of not doing any work with regards to the in-situ rehabilitation of slums on land under its jurisdiction, pointing to Central schemes for the redevelopments of slums. The minister also spoke about various provisions in the draft Delhi master plan 2041, scheduled to be notified next year, will have.

New Delhi, India - Nov. 30, 2022 : (L TO R ) BJP MPs Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, Manoj Tiwari, Hans Raj Hans, Ramesh Bidhuri, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, and Harsh Vardhan, during a press conference at BJP HQ in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. (Photo by Arvind Yadav/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Puri’s attack on the AAP came amid a heated war of words between the BJP and the AAP ahead of the municipal corporation polls, scheduled for December 4.

The BJP, which has controlled the corporation for the last 15 years and is eying a fourth successive term in the civic body, is reaching out to slum residents -- considered a strong support base for the AAP -- by pitching the work done by the Centre, especially in housing-related issues, just like it did before the assembly elections in 2020.

Speaking at a press conference, Puri noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 2 inaugurated 3,024 new flats for poor families as part of a slum rehabilitation project in south Delhi’s Kalkaji Extension.

“Similar projects are under construction at Jailorwala Bagh and Kathputli Colony. There are 675 slum clusters in Delhi of which 376 are on central government land. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has completed the survey of 210 clusters to identify beneficiaries and the remaining work will commence after the municipal elections and will be completed by March 2023. Unfortunately, no work has been done in the 299 slum clusters which are under the Delhi government,” the Union minister said.

The AAP has ruled Delhi since 2015 and is seeking to wrest MCD’s control from the BJP.

At his press conference, Puri alleged that the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), which falls under the state government, has not done any work related to slum rehabilitation. “If the state government can’t do it, then the central government will get it done,” he said.

The minister said that around 13.5 million people will benefit from three crucial schemes or policy decisions (in-situ rehabilitation of slums, PM-UDAY for unauthorised colonies and land pooling for planned development of urban extension areas) by the Centre to address the housing problem in the national capital.

Reaching out to voters in residential neighbourhoods developed by the DDA such as Malviya Nagar, Rajinder Nagar and Hauz Khas, as well as group housing societies, Puri said the Centre has proactively worked on its redevelopment policy to cater to the growing requirements and increased the floor area ratio in the Master Plan of Delhi-2041, which will be notified soon.

With a sizable population of voters living in urbanised villages, the minister said that the technical hurdles in the implementation of land pooling policies will be addressed soon. “We have taken all the necessary measures. The amendment in the Delhi Development Act will be tabled in the next session of the Parliament so that the land pooling policy can be implemented,” he said.

The AAP did not respond to repeated requests for comments to Puri’s allegations.