NEW DELHI: With increase in the number of people migrating to the national capital for jobs, the demand for homes has also increased. However, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government has not spent a single penny in the last two years from the Rs 20.64 crore allocated by the Centre for builing houses for the homeless.
Under the Centre’s Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), funds are allocated for the uplift of the poor. But the Urban Development Ministry, which allocates fund, has not released any grant in 2014-2015 and 2015-16 as the state government couldn't utilise the earlier sanctioned amount.
Finally in the last one month, the scheme has come to the notice of the Kejriwal government. Mission Convergence-Samajik Suvidha Sangam (SSS) has been dismantled and ‘Mission Swaraj’ has been implemented in its place to execute the guidelines of NULM. The control of the agency has also been shifted from the Administrative Reforms to the Revenue Department and SK Jain has been appointed as the Managing Director of Mission Swaraj.
“Major part of the shelter providing work has been given to the DUSIB and the skill development exercise to the Training and Technical Education department. Two meetings have already been held in the last month since the new MD has stepped in. Work didn’t take place in the last two years due to policy paralysis,” an official said.
“The functioning of the department was hit as we didn’t have a Managing Director for the last two years,” Nisha Nair, project officer told The Sunday Standard. Mission Swaraj has also requested the government to fill at least 25 vacant post of the sanctioned 80, which the government is yet to take care of.