No jhuggis to be demolished till provision of ‘pakka houses’

NEW DELHI: Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister, Delhi, while talking about the Supreme Court’s notice to remove all slum dwellings along railway tracks, said on Monday, September 14, that 48,000 slum dwellers will not be displaced until the government provides them with a ‘pakka house’ within a five kilometre radius of their present inhabitance. Kejriwal said that as per the Social Provision Act, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB ) and the Parliament Act on rehabilitation, no one can remove jhuggis without providing Pakka Makan. 

“I assure all my siblings living in the slums of Delhi that as long as your brother is alive, your house will not be destroyed,” Kejriwal said while addressing the Delhi legislative assembly.He added that the decision to remove jhuggis is wrong, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic as there is a chance that one of these slum dwellings may turn into a COVID hotspot. Kejriwal said that a collective solution to the problem will be sought by the Government of Delhi, the Northern Railways and the DUSIB within a duration of four weeks.