‘EWS flats built under JNNURM not yet allotted, BJP, AAP responsible’

NEW DELHI: Only 4,833 of the 35,744 EWS flats built under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in Delhi have been allotted, Congress leader Rajeev Shukla said on Monday, blaming the BJP and AAP for the lag.

The two parties are fighting over who should get credit, Shukla alleged at a press conference.

There was no immediate reaction from the two parties.

According to Shukla, the Congress-led central government had approved the construction of 52,344 economically weaker section flats at 14 locations under JNNURM with a budget of Rs 2,415 crore. “The construction of 35,744 flats was completed years ago. Of this, only 4,833 flats have been allotted,” he said. “A total of 30,303 flats are ready for the allotment but due to the fight of BJP and AAP, they have not being allotted. The 16,600 under-construction flats are in a dilapidated condition,” Shukla added.

On September 18, 2023, the Delhi High Court formed a high power committee and instructed that the flats be allotted as soon as possible.

“But it is very unfortunate that even after high court’s direction, no action has been taken by the state and Central governments,” Shukla said.

According to him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took credit for former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s works, including the Chandrayaan project. The schemes implemented by the Congress for upliftment of the poor and the marginalised were being appropriated by the BJP and AAP and they were recycling them to mislead voters ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, he alleged.

Delhi air has become so toxic that people cannot breathe easy and respiratory illnesses have become the new ‘normal’, the Rajya Sabha MP said. The MP stated, “Yamuna has become so polluted with human waste, sewer effluent, and other pollutants that lakhs of Poorvanchal devotees were stopped from holding Chhath Puja. The Congress government had constructed special ghats on the river’s banks.” He praised Sheila Dikshit’s leadership, saying it was the only government that worked in Delhi. He believes Congress will win on February 5, promising Rs 2,500 to women, Rs 25 lakh health insurance, Rs 8,500 scholarships for unemployed youth, and other benefits.