Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday asked all land-owning agencies in the Capital not to demolish jhuggis until the end of the winter.
The move came after the Chief Minister held a meeting with senior officials from the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the three municipal corporations over the slum policy.
Incidentally, Mr. Kejriwal's decision came on a day when the Central government approved a Bill providing a three-year extension to the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Amendment Bill, 2017, that protects slums and unauthorised constructions in the Capital from punitive action till formulation of policies for their orderly arrangement.
‘Follow protocol’
According to a statement released by the Delhi government later in the day, the Chief Minister asked the agencies not to demolish any jhuggi till February 28. “Please do not demolish jhuggis till winter is over, say around February 28, 2018. It’s very cold and take a humanitarian approach,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.
He also asked the agencies to follow the protocol set for demolition of jhuggis “in letter and spirit”. The Chief Minister said no such structure should be razed immediately without following the framework of the demolition policy. “No demolition should be done in future also without proper rehabilitation of the slum dwellers. The DUSIB will lay down the norms for demolition according the notified Slum Policy and it will be applicable for all of Delhi and agencies,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
