Delhi CM Rekha Gupta unveils plan to relocate slum dwellers

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday said her government has prepared a plan to relocate slum dwellers to 50,000 flats constructed years ago but never allotted to anyone.

She inspected government flats built for economically weaker sections in Sultanpuri, North West Delhi, around 2011.

“We have planned to relocate slum dwellers within a two-kilometre periphery of thousands of such old flats after properly repairing them and providing all the facilities,” she told reporters.

Gupta criticised previous Delhi governments for failing to allot the 50,000 flats constructed over the years, leading to their current dilapidated condition.

“Neither Congress nor AAP gave these flats to poor people. But now our government will ensure these flats are allotted to slum dwellers after repair. If needed, we will demolish old flats if they cannot be repaired and provide new houses to them,” she said.

On Friday, Gupta said that no slums will be demolished in Delhi and asserted that her government would not hesitate to change policy or approach the courts to protect the rights of slum dwellers.

She has also instructed various government departments not to demolish slums unless residents are first provided with alternative housing.

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Illegal construction surges on Yamuna floodplains despite court orders

Despite multiple court orders banning any form of construction or dumping, illegal activities continue unabated across the Yamuna floodplains in Delhi. Permanent structures are being erected, demolition and construction waste is being dumped indiscriminately, and heaps of silt and garbage are accumulating — all under the gaze of an administration that environmentalists describe as wilfully apathetic.

The South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), a water advocacy group and think tank, has written to Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, and other concerned officials, seeking immediate intervention to stop these activities, which it says pose a serious ecological threat.