POLL TIME: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit along with Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ram Babu Sharma (left) and senior party leader Sajjan Kumar releasing the Congress manifesto for MCD polls in the Capital on Friday. Photo: Shanker Chakravar ty

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee on Friday released its manifesto for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections promising to implement the new Master Plan for Delhi-2021 and ensuring regularisation of 1,500 unauthorised colonies.

For the first time, the Congress manifesto has been released in Urdu and Punjabi also besides Hindi and English. Following the release of the manifesto, a press conference was addressed by DPCC president Ram Babu Sharma along with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, All India Congress Committee secretary J.D. Saleem, and Members of Parliament Jagdish Tytler, Sajjan Kumar, J.P. Aggarwal and Sandeep Dikshit and former Delhi Congress president and MLA Subhash Chopra.

"Promises fulfilled"

Mr. Sharma said the priorities for the Congress would be implementation of the new Master Plan, regularisation of 1,500 unauthorised colonies and re-development of slums. He said the Congress had fulfilled its promises made during the 2002 MCD elections and expressed confidence that people would again repose their faith in the party.

In the manifesto, the Congress has stated that if voted to power in the MCD it would give ownership rights to residents of all resettlement slums and unauthorised colonies without charging any fees. Also, it accused the BJP of not doing anything for the welfare of these residents when it was in power at the Centre. The Congress has also promised to lay emphasis on education of the girl child and to open more hostels for working women. It has also promised to open more crèches in keeping with the changing needs of the people. The party has also decided to launch a smart card scheme for checking the problem of illegal migrants in Delhi.

On the development front, the Congress has declared that it would promote development of tourism on the banks of the Yamuna, provide alternative sites to vendors and hawkers and develop sports facilities in each ward.

Ms. Dikshit used the occasion to laud the achievements of the Delhi Government and the MCD and assured that the promises made in the election manifesto would be fulfilled. She said the party and the Delhi Government were working together and the party was now approaching the voters on the basis of its achievements in the MCD during the past five years.

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