NEW DELHI: The Delhi Assembly on Monday passed a resolution stating that no houses will be demolished till there is an arrangement for in-situ rehabilitation of the slum dwellers. Breaking his silence on the controversy, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that he is ready to “beg anyone” to provide permanent housing to slum dwellers who are like his family.
“I would like to assure all the 48,000 slum dwellers that till the time your brother, your son is alive, he will not let you get devastated. Before removing your slum, we will ensure that you have a permanent house and will try our best to provide that house in the nearby vicinity,” said Kejriwal addressing the assembly.
Kejriwal welcomed the Centre’s move on the matter saying that Delhi and the Central government will jointly work together to provide legal and rightful homes to people living in JJ clusters.
Kejriwal also expressed concerns and objected to demolition during the time of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I believe that during this time of the pandemic, it’s not advisable to remove these slums. We should not proceed in this direction so that these areas do not become corona hotspots,” he added.
Since the direction from Supreme Court to remove slums along the railway tracks, the AAP has accused the BJP-led central government of threatening the demolition of JJ clusters. BJP hit back saying that it is the AAP government that has not been able to provide house to slum dwellers.
“I want to know from the AAP government that why almost 50,000 houses, already constructed for the purpose of rehabilitation, were not given to these slums dwellers till now. Kejriwal government also has not implemented Pradhanmantri Awas Yojna, which covers JJ clusters,” said Leader of Opposition in the assembly Ramveer Singh Bidhuri.