No slums will be demolished, open to policy change: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta
Calling slum dwellers the 'backbone of Delhi's working class,' Gupta announced a halt on all demolitions unless alternative housing is provided in advance.
The Delhi government has also made it clear that no slum will be removed in the Capital. Gupta directed land-owning agencies like the Railways, Delhi Development Authority, and other departments to 'immediately cease' any eviction drives and warned that her government would approach the courts if necessary.
Her statement comes weeks after eviction notices were served to residents of a jhuggi cluster in R K Puram, an area where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier assured slum dwellers that 'no jhuggi would be demolished'.
The BJP has also faced internal criticism from its MLAs and booth workers, who had campaigned extensively in slums with the slogan 'jahan jhuggi, wahan makan'.
Since the BJP government has taken charge in Delhi, major slums have been demolished over the past few months: Madrasi Camp (340 structures demolished), Bhoomiheen Camp (344 structures demolished), Jailer Wala Bagh (300 structures) and Taimoor Nagar (100 structures).
Criticising both AAP and Congress, accusing them of historic neglect and using slum residents merely as 'vote banks', Gupta said: 'The Congress named colonies after their leaders but gave nothing. The AAP promised the world, but didn't even ensure clean drinking water or drainage. They pushed these communities into neglect and addiction.'
She also announced that 50,000 unallotted flats in Outer Delhi — long left in disrepair — will be renovated under the PMAY-Urban and handed over to slum dwellers. The Centre has allowed Rs 732 crore, previously underutilised under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, to be repurposed for this housing initiative.
In response to Gupta, AAP's Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said, 'Rekha Gupta and her party have been bluffing the poor residents of Delhi for many months now. If Rekha Gupta is actually serious about what she is saying, then she should ask the central government and its agencies — DDA, Railways, and L&DO — to withdraw cases against these JJ clusters in the High Court and the Supreme Court.'
Attempting to reframe the demolition narrative, Gupta claimed the BJP is the first government to pair evictions with actual housing handovers, unlike her predecessors. 'Previous governments simply watched slums grow. We are finally giving people homes — and dignity,' she said.
She said slums are an inseparable part of the national capital and asserted that her government is making sincere efforts to ensure their rightful recognition as residents of Delhi.
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