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Maken lashes out at Bhagidari

Staff Reporter

Terms it ineffective and demands change in system

NEW DELHI: Stating that the concept of the "Bhagidari" scheme of the Delhi Government was good and its intentions might also be noble, Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken on Thursday took pot shots at the much talked about scheme by stating that it had not been able to penetrate the deep pockets of population in the Capital and had ended up becoming elitist in nature -- something that needs to be changed. Speaking at the release of a book "State of Governance in Delhi'' prepared by the Centre for Civil Society, Mr. Maken took a dig at the Chief Minister's brainchild that according to him had become stagnant over the years. "The penetration has not been able to achieve the objectives of the scheme. It is not practically possible in the present set-up as 69 per cent of Delhi's population is presently residing in slums and unauthorised colonies. This large chunk of population does not have any representation in this scheme as the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) of such areas have been largely left untouched by the Bhagidari scheme. This scheme has become elitist in nature and needs a total overhauling with the aim of involving the common man and not a few elite,'' Mr. Maken remarked.

Mr. Maken said systematic changes were needed in the present concept that includes fine-tuning of the aims and objectives. The whole idea needs to be overhauled and the target should be at the municipal ward level. At present, there are 80 to 120 polling stations per municipal ward in Delhi. This needs to be changed and brought down to five to seven wards.

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