‘First govt giving homes to slum dwellers, not just camp names,’ says Delhi CM at Sukhdev College

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday said her government is the first in the capital’s history to work towards providing proper homes to slum dwellers, rather than merely labelling settlements with names like “Sanjay Camp” or “Nehru Camp.”

“This is the first government which is working in a direction to provide homes to every slum dweller,” she said while addressing students and faculty at the 39th Foundation and Orientation Day of Delhi University’s Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.

Gupta also announced the addition of 500 new seats at the college, aimed at expanding access to quality higher education.

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Taking a jibe at previous regimes, she remarked, “In the last 15 to 20 years, not a single new college was made in Delhi. Delhi was lost in those years.”

Congratulating the incoming batch, Gupta said, “I couldn’t come to Sukhdev College earlier because only students with 98 per cent, 100 per cent marks could come here. I had to become chief minister to come to this college.”

She urged students to think beyond academic achievement. “Completing a degree cannot be the only goal. The goal should be to contribute to the development of the country,” she said, describing college years as the “golden period” of a young person’s life.

College principal Poonam Verma paid tribute to the college’s namesake, Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar, recalling his courage and sacrifice.

“He was only 23 when he was martyred. He fought for freedom; you must fight for excellence and a new India,” she told the new batch.

Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies is one of Delhi University’s premier institutions offering undergraduate programmes in management and business.

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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.