Poll game: Wooing voters with elusive houses
12 Aug 2013 9:55 PM GMT
In the run-up to the 2008 Delhi assembly polls, Congress party president and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on 14 September 2007 had announced that the Centre would give a package of Rs 1,500 crore for providing housing facilities to poor sections in the national capital. Under the scheme, 50,000 four-storey houses were to be constructed in the first phase and
allotted to people living below poverty line.
  Sonia Gandhi had said that the Rs 1,500 crore package would be given in addition to Rs 265 crore, which the Centre had already provided to the Delhi Government to provide houses to the poor as the Delhi Government had set a target of making Delhi slum-free before the Common Wealth Games(CWG) in 2010.
In 2008, the Delhi government completed the construction of around 14,000 flats, to be allotted to people belonging to the economically weaker sections. Almost five years later, the flats are still vacant, and are in a bad shape. No allotment has been made till date. The government is still working on the eligibility criteria of economically weaker sections (EWS) and therefore, cannot decide who qualifies for the category and in turn for the ownership of the flats.
With a few months left for Delhi assembly polls, both the major political parties – the Congress and the BJP are again trying hard to woo voters belonging to EWS by offering sops to people living in slums clusters.
Chief minister Sheila Dikshit has again promised allotting 50,000 low-cost houses within five months, which would be free for those belonging to the schedule caste category. She further claimed that the house would be allotted to registered urban poor families and residents of jhuggi-jhopri clusters (JJ clusters).
While the flats would be provided to SCs for free, for other eligible families soft loans would be
arranged. On the other hand, Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel has promised that flats will be provided to every family living in JJ clusters in the city.
Goel further said that the BJP has decided to provide houses developed on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model at the places, where these families are living at present. He further proclaimed that in JJ clusters, electricity will be provided through a single point connection—toilet blocks will be constructed in every cluster along with a police booth. Every household will be provided with regular uninterrupted clean water supply, cheap electricity, medical facility and a ration card.
According to government sources, the state’s eligibility survey on the basis of the 2007 cut-off date came under controversy as it was found that barely 40 per cent of the slum dwellers were eligible, defeating the very purpose of relocation and rehabilitation.
Under the revised policy, the cut-off date for slum rehabilitation has been extended from 31 March, 2007 to 4 June, 2009, thereby bringing a large number of additional families under the purview of the amended policy.
A couple of years ago, the Delhi Cabinet constituted a high level committee of principal secretaries to initiate the allotment of the low-cost houses to eligible applicants under the Rajiv Ratna Awas Yojna.
The committee has been asked to finalise not only the criteria under which applicants will be eligible, but also finalise the modalities of the allotment process.
The draw of lot will be organised very soon in the presence of the applicants and other eminent persons. It is going to be transparent as well as accurate. The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board would finally verify the particulars of allotted in order to ensure fair process of allotment.
In 2008, the urban development department had received more than 1.80 lakh applications for the low-cost flats under the Rajiv Ratna Awas Yojna.
In November 2009, the Lokayukta had received a complaint that Delhi CM had misrepresented to the public on the eve of year 2008 assembly election that 60,000 houses under the Rajiv Ratan Awas yojna were ready and the process of allotment was to commence. The complaint had alleged that misrepresentation was in the message under the name of the CM along with her photograph.
The chief minister had in her defence before the Lokayukta said that the complaint was part of a political conspiracy by a rival party to tarnish her image.
Dikshit had alleged the complainant had wrongly translated the message to give it a wrong meaning and correct translation was that houses to be constructed.
allotted to people living below poverty line.
  Sonia Gandhi had said that the Rs 1,500 crore package would be given in addition to Rs 265 crore, which the Centre had already provided to the Delhi Government to provide houses to the poor as the Delhi Government had set a target of making Delhi slum-free before the Common Wealth Games(CWG) in 2010.
In 2008, the Delhi government completed the construction of around 14,000 flats, to be allotted to people belonging to the economically weaker sections. Almost five years later, the flats are still vacant, and are in a bad shape. No allotment has been made till date. The government is still working on the eligibility criteria of economically weaker sections (EWS) and therefore, cannot decide who qualifies for the category and in turn for the ownership of the flats.
With a few months left for Delhi assembly polls, both the major political parties – the Congress and the BJP are again trying hard to woo voters belonging to EWS by offering sops to people living in slums clusters.
Chief minister Sheila Dikshit has again promised allotting 50,000 low-cost houses within five months, which would be free for those belonging to the schedule caste category. She further claimed that the house would be allotted to registered urban poor families and residents of jhuggi-jhopri clusters (JJ clusters).
While the flats would be provided to SCs for free, for other eligible families soft loans would be
arranged. On the other hand, Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel has promised that flats will be provided to every family living in JJ clusters in the city.
Goel further said that the BJP has decided to provide houses developed on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model at the places, where these families are living at present. He further proclaimed that in JJ clusters, electricity will be provided through a single point connection—toilet blocks will be constructed in every cluster along with a police booth. Every household will be provided with regular uninterrupted clean water supply, cheap electricity, medical facility and a ration card.
According to government sources, the state’s eligibility survey on the basis of the 2007 cut-off date came under controversy as it was found that barely 40 per cent of the slum dwellers were eligible, defeating the very purpose of relocation and rehabilitation.
Under the revised policy, the cut-off date for slum rehabilitation has been extended from 31 March, 2007 to 4 June, 2009, thereby bringing a large number of additional families under the purview of the amended policy.
A couple of years ago, the Delhi Cabinet constituted a high level committee of principal secretaries to initiate the allotment of the low-cost houses to eligible applicants under the Rajiv Ratna Awas Yojna.
The committee has been asked to finalise not only the criteria under which applicants will be eligible, but also finalise the modalities of the allotment process.
The draw of lot will be organised very soon in the presence of the applicants and other eminent persons. It is going to be transparent as well as accurate. The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board would finally verify the particulars of allotted in order to ensure fair process of allotment.
In 2008, the urban development department had received more than 1.80 lakh applications for the low-cost flats under the Rajiv Ratna Awas Yojna.
In November 2009, the Lokayukta had received a complaint that Delhi CM had misrepresented to the public on the eve of year 2008 assembly election that 60,000 houses under the Rajiv Ratan Awas yojna were ready and the process of allotment was to commence. The complaint had alleged that misrepresentation was in the message under the name of the CM along with her photograph.
The chief minister had in her defence before the Lokayukta said that the complaint was part of a political conspiracy by a rival party to tarnish her image.
Dikshit had alleged the complainant had wrongly translated the message to give it a wrong meaning and correct translation was that houses to be constructed.
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