The Hindu : National : BJP promises Mumbai pattern of housing for the poor in Delhi

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BJP promises Mumbai pattern of housing for the poor in Delhi

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: The chairman of the Delhi Slum Improvement Board, Mewa Ram Arya, who is also a Delhi BJP spokesperson, has termed Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken’s statement in Parliament that “pucca” or concrete houses would be provided to residents of slum clusters as “only a political announcement in view of the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections.”

He said the BJP, if voted to power, would implement the scheme for providing permanent accommodation to the poor on the Mumbai pattern so that they might be able to live a life of dignity.

Mr. Arya charged the Congress government in Delhi with not providing even a single concrete house to a slum dweller in the past ten years of its rule and even though a few months ago it had announced that four lakh flats would be constructed for such people, it had not allotted even a single flat so far.

He also pointed out that while lakhs of people had applied for these flats, the government had not allotted any unit.

As for Mr. Maken’s contention that 36,803 families living in 21 jhuggi-jhompri colonies would be provided houses under a public-private partnership scheme on in-situ basis, Mr. Arya said even this scheme was only on paper.

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