Will Work With Centre For Housing Delhi Slum Dwellers: Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said he would not let dwellers of slums encroaching on railway land in Delhi be displaced and his government will work with the Centre to provide houses to them.

The Supreme Court had on August 31 ordered removal of 48,000 slum dwellings along the railway tracks in Delhi within three months. It is estimated that around 2.4 lakh people live in slums in Naraina Vihar, Azadpur, Vihar, Shakur Basti, Mayapuri, Sriniwaspuri, Anand Parbat, Okhla and others.

"I believe that in this pandemic removing 48,000 jhuggis is not correct. What if the place becomes a coronavirus hotspot? Law says slum dwellers should not be removed before rehabilitation. It is legal right of every slum dweller to have a house," he said at the one-day session of the Delhi Assembly.

"I assure slum dwellers that I will not let them be displaced till I am alive. I assure that the Central and Delhi governments will work together for ensuring pucca houses to slum dwellers. All agencies concerned need to come together to work for providing houses," the chief minister said.

A proposal on slum dwellers was passed by the House by voice vote.

During the debate, Opposition leader Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said that under the ''Jahan Jhuggi wahin Makan'' scheme, every slum dweller in Delhi will be provided pucca house by 2022.