After a deadlock of over two years, land in at least two areas — Mayapuri and Punjabi Bagh — will soon be cleared for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to carry forward work on the Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridor.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has ordered rehabilitation of the slums obstructing construction within four months. Recently, it was decided that the Delhi government would clear land pockets in Mayapuri and Punjabi Bagh by relocating the slum dwellers to EWS flats in Bapraula.
“DUSIB will relocate slum dwellers by August. It was decided that DMRC’s case would be taken on priority as it has been stuck since 2013,” said V.K. Jain, Chief Executive Officer, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).
Project on track
DMRC officials, meanwhile, said the move would enable it to construct the viaduct on a stretch of 84x46 metres. “The process took time as the government was coming up with its slum rehabilitation policy. We shall begin work once the pockets are cleared,” said a Metro official. The government has identified 23 slums and JJ clusters across the Capital, including plots to be allotted to the DMRC, which will be relocated under the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015. “In the last survey conducted in 2013, as many as 23 slums were identified as high priority zones. But, only 47 per cent of the dwellers were eligible. Under the new policy, which has January 1, 2015, as the new eligibility cut-off date, 90 per cent people will be covered,” added Mr Jain.
