How New Slum Policy Will Help Delhi Govt Get Its Act Together

At a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi government on July 8 gave its approval to the Delhi Slum and JJ (Jhuggi Jhopadi) Relocation and Rehabilitation Policy, 2015. According to the new guidelines incorporated into the policy, the JJ clusters that have been in existence since before January 1, 2006, will be demolished only after providing alternative housing to their residents.

The new guidelines and eligibility

Only those JJ dwellers will be eligible for alternative accommodation who have been living in these clusters as of February 14, 2015. Earlier, the cut-off date for eligibility had been kept at June 4, 2009. To avail of the benefits under the scheme, a slum-dweller's name must figure in the electoral rolls of one of these years: 2012, 2013, 2014 or 2015. The policy also says “No new jhuggi will be allowed to come up”.

Who will implement the policy?

The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), the body which will be responsible for implementing the policy, had given its approval to the rehabilitation policy in April this year.

According to an official release of the Directorate of Information and Publicity, Government of Delhi, the “DUSIB will plan and implement in-situ rehabilitation/re-development of JJ clusters, wherever technically feasible; in other cases, DUSIB will resort to nearest possible relocation”.

Why is the policy important?

• The National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Bill, 2011, directed an “orderly arrangements for relocation and rehabilitation of slum-dwellers and JJ clusters in the National Capital Territory of Delhi, in accordance with the provisions of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board Act, 2010, and the Master Plan for Delhi, 2021, to ensure its development in a sustainable, planned and humane manner”. The new policy will ensure that the development is carried out without increasing the number of homeless people in the city.

• Data show that there are 675 JJ clusters in the national capital, and these have illegally occupied prime land in Delhi. For instance, about 3,000 households have illegally occupied about 23,911 sq km of railway land near central Delhi's ITO at Anna Nagar, Sanjay Colony. To make Delhi a world-class city, it is important that its prime real estate be planned and developed better.

• By providing these slum-dwellers proper alternatives, the Delhi government will also be able to improve the city's infrastructure, apart from opting for a peaceful rehabilitation programme.

Why is it important for the AAP govt?

The move, coming one-and-a-half years after the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government took charge of Delhi for a second time, seems to be a step in the direction of fulfilling the party's election promise. Earlier, the government had formulated a Bill to get full statehood for Delhi – another of AAP's major promises to the people of Delhi.

Kejriwal's opponents have accused him and his party of failing to keep his poll promises. A wise urban-planning move, the new slum policy will also help the Delhi CM clean up his personal image and the image of his government.

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