'The 1995 cut-off date to regularise slums isn't feasible'

Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam said if the Congress-NCP alliance was voted to power in the forthcoming civic elections, they would ensure a better quality of life for the citizens of Mumbai.

Congress MP Sanjay Nirupam said if the Congress-NCP alliance was voted to power in the forthcoming civic elections, they would ensure a better quality of life for the citizens of Mumbai.

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Nirupam outlined that the Central government is committed to providing a good quality of life to the citizens. "Providing funds is no problem for the Central government. What is needed is willpower on the part of the civic body to implement various projects in the city," he said. Nirupam was confident that developmental works across the city would improve substantially if the Congress-NCP combine wins the election, since it is already in power at the state and Centre. He outlined that the Central government has fully paid for the BRIMSTOWAD project but the work is not even 50 per cent completed. The Brihanmumbai Stormwater Disposal System (BRIMSTOWAD) is a project planned to overhaul Mumbai's water drainage system. In the case of the BEST services, Nirupam praised the Central government for providing new 1,000 buses.

Currently, the Congress party is buoyed by its success in forging an alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and sees this as a bright chance to dislodge the current saffron dispensation in the civic body.

Nirupam also struck a populist stance on slums. "The city cannot do away with slums as servants, gardeners and many such people come from there," he said. The cut-off date of 1995 for regularisation of slums is not feasible, he added. "At least one lakh slums have come up after this date and these people cannot be just thrown away," he added.