The Hindu : `MCD following Centre's directive on relocation'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 26, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

`MCD following Centre's directive on relocation'

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, JAN. 25. The on-going slum relocation drive from the Yamuna Pushta was being carried out at the direction of the Union Urban Development Ministry to implement a Delhi High Court order in this regard, the Municipal Commissioner, Rakesh Mehta, said here today.

The slum relocation drive has generated a lot of controversy this past week with the Congress leaders including its president, Sonia Gandhi, the All India Congress Committee secretary and in-charge of Delhi, Ahmed Patel, and Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, charging the Union Government for dislocating the poorest of the poor in the chilly winter months for electoral benefits.

Mr. Mehta said the Union Urban Development Ministry had recently deposited a sum of Rs. 25 crores to the Slum and Jhuggi Jhonpari Department of the MCD for removing slum clusters from the Yamuna banks. The land of Gautampuri-II, from where the current relocation has been launched, falls in the Yamuna bank is owned by the Land and Development Office of the Union Urban Development Ministry, for which the Union Tourism and Culture Minister, Jagmohan, has developed a beautification plan.

Under the existing law, all the slum clusters can be removed and shifted to a new location only by the Slum Department of the MCD, whose primary duty is to provide minimum basic civic amenities in the JJ clusters, on-site up-gradation and improvement and re-location of the slum clusters at the request of the land owning agencies. As such "we are just following the directive of the Union Urban Development Ministry to remove the slum clusters from Yamuna Pushta,'' Mr. Mehta said. "We do not have any role to play, as we are dictated by the land owning agency which has paid the money to us,'' he added.

As per the Government policies of the nearly 3,000 families at Gautampuri-II, only 430 are eligible for relocation, of which more than 60 have voluntarily opted and have been shifted to Madanpur Khadar and Holambi Kalan. It would taken another several days to clear the Yamuna bank near the Player's Building, the civic administration was a bit cautious in carrying out the relocation drive. ``Normally this would have been done in one day, but due to political interference things have taken a complicated turn. Therefore, we are going slowly,'' he said.

Besides the local MLA, Tajdar Babbar, her son and area Councillor, Farhad Suri, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, and the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, a large number of Congress leaders had visited the Gautampuri slums this week opposing the relocation drive.

Mr. Mehta said all this had strained the Slum Department, which was over pressed to carry out the slum relocation drive from as many as 28 places in the Capital. ``Due to paucity of land, we have now prioratised the relocation drive. As of now we are taking relocation drive only for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Railways and those ordered by the Court,'' Mr. Mehta said.

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