CM, DCW blast realtor over abysmal state of Kathputli transit camp

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Commissioner for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal on Thursday made a surprise inspection at the Kathputli Colony transit camp at Anand Parbat, where Kejriwal found that the camp build by real estate major Raheja Developers is in a very bad shape.

The Chief Minister warned the officials with strict action, even asking the officer-in-charge of the camp, that as the "roofs are broken, how do you think these people will stay here?"

He further asked, "Where do you stay? Does water enter your house in the same way and if not then how can you expect these people will stay here like this?"

The officer responded that he received charge of the camp very recently, to which the CM replied he was not interested in such arguments and wanted to meet all the officers who were appointed there.

After Delhi government officials contacted Raheja Builders over phone and handed over to CM, he said, "I asked you to meet me here but you did not come. Where are you and how can these people stay in such a poor condition. I want to meet you immediately?"

"Do you think these people are human beings or animals that you will throw them in such a condition," he further asked.

Maliwal, who accompanied the CM in this inspection, said, "The transit camp is in a hell-like condition. You cannot walk there as mud and garbage are scattered all over. I wonder how Raheja argued rather than accepting their faults. The DCW will take steps against the builders."

The government got the information regarding the poor state of the camp from its sources and the Chief Minister decided to make a sudden inspection. The developers could not be contacted by Millennium Post for a response.

The Kathputli colony is one of the biggest and oldest slums located in Shadipur Depot, housing puppeteers, acrobats, storytellers, folk dancers and painters.