HYDERABAD: Officials of the municipal administration department and Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas of Telangana get the jitters as a committee constituted by the Supreme Court to inspect the shelters for urban homeless in the state is going to visit the state on June 5 and 6. The existing shelters are learnt to be lacking basic amenities, forcing the homeless people to stay away from them.
Except a few shelters maintained by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the twin cities, shelters in other urban areas in the state are improperly maintained and do not have the required infrastructure for the homeless to live.
To physically verify whether the shelters are being run in compliance with the operational guidelines on the scheme of Shelter for Urban Homeless under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), a committee headed by Justice Kailash Gambhir, a retired judge of the Delh High Court; Neeraj Kumar Gupta, a retired officer of Delhi Higher Judicial Service; joint secretary in the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation (MoHUPA); and some other officials will visit Telangana for two days on June 5 and 6.
The committee will verify whether the shelters are in compliance with the operational guidelines for the scheme of Shelter for Urban Homeless under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM). Failure to implement the scheme fully would be brought to the attention of the Supreme Court.
It will also inquire into the reasons for slow progress in the setting up of shelter homes and enquire about non-utilisation, diversion, misuse of the funds allocated for the scheme for providing shelters for the urban homeless.
The committee may make recommendations to the state government to ensure that at least temporary shelters are provided during winters for the homeless in urban areas. The governments should ensure compliance with the recommendations along the time frame indicated by the committee.
In view of the proposed visit, officials issued instructions to GHMC, project directors of MEPMA and all municipal commissioners to take immediate necessary action for smooth functioning of the existing shelters.
The municipalities which have shelters for the homeless have been told to complete the construction of those sanctioned and refurbish those existing with all basic amenities immediately.
The ULBs should see that all homeless persons in their areas are brought to the existing shelters and ensure creation of basic amenities like beds, lockers, kitchen utensils, drinking water, sanitation, power, toilets and first-aid kits. Besides, all records, including the case studies on inmates, are to be updated inmates.
The inmates are to be given priority under various schemes and programmes like issue of voter cards, pensions, PDS, bank accounts, ICDS services, insurance, housing, free legal aid and health care.
Municipal commissioners were hold regular meetings of executive committees on the shelters and to submit detailed project reports on construction or refurbishment on the basis of the survey conducted.