NEW DELHI: Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood on Wednesday said the government is improving housing and living conditions for the city’s urban poor, including revival of 2,500 houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and a Rs 700 crore allocation for slum rehabilitation.
Addressing the media, the minister said one of the first steps taken by the government after assuming office was to resume work on the PMAY homes, which had remained unoccupied for years. He alleged that the previous AAP government had stalled their allocation due to the absence of the ‘Chief Minister’ label on the structures.
“These homes were kept from the people simply due to political ego. With Rs 43 crore now being spent to make them livable, we are correcting that injustice,” he said, adding that the initiative is being carried out under the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) and will benefit thousands of poor families in need of shelter.
Reaffirming the government’s stand on slum rehabilitation, Sood asserted that no slum will be demolished in Delhi. “This is not just a statement but a commitment. For the first time, we have allocated Rs 700 crore in the DUSIB budget for the upliftment of slum dwellers,” he said.
Responding to concerns over the recent demolition of the Madrasi Camp slum in Jangpura, Sood said the move was essential to prevent urban flooding, and claimed that 215 of the 370 families there had been respectfully relocated. He accused AAP of failing to provide dignified resettlement during its tenure.