AAP Accuses BJP Of Reneging On MCD Poll Promise Of In-Situ Rehabilitation Of Slum Dwellers

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday accused the BJP of reneging on its MCD poll promise of in-situ rehabilitation of slum dwellers in the national capital.

Addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader and MLA Atishi said, “Just a day before the Model Code of Conduct for the MCD elections was to come into force, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an event in which he met some residents of the Bhoomiheen camp in Kalkaji and gave them the registration papers of their new houses."

The PM also went on to say that at the moment he was providing houses to 500 families and in a similar manner he would provide a house to every person who lived in a jhuggi in Delhi, she said.

"After this, the leaders of the BJP went around in different parts of Delhi asking for votes for the party on the basis of this promise made by the prime minister of the country. They told the slum dwellers that in the location where their jhuggi was located, the BJP would go on to give them a pakka house," Atishi added.

She said the BJP had told around 40,000 inhabitants of Navjeevan camp and Jawahar camp, located opposite the Bhoomiheen camp, that they too will be given flats at their location.

"It’s not been a month and the DDA has pasted notices at the Navjeevan and Jawahar camps, informing the people living there that they will be shifted to Narela and that the JJ clusters will be razed," Atishi said citing the notice.

She said the Arvind Kejriwal government will not let the BJP bulldoze the JJ clusters till the time these people get their houses.

Responding to her, Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana said Atishi was “a machine of extreme lies”. “And as a punishment for spreading these lies and confusion, the people of Kalkaji have defeated all the three councillor candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party.”

It is a matter of regret that even after being rejected by the people of Kalkaji, Atishi is not desisting from spreading lies, he said.

The BJP spokesperson said the slum dwellers of Bhoomiheen camp have the first right on the flats built in Kalkaji and the DDA will settle them there.

The DDA is undertaking in-situ slum rehabilitation of 376 JJ clusters in line with PM Modi's vision to provide housing for all.

The objective of the rehabilitation project is to provide a better and healthy living environment to the residents of the JJ clusters. Under the Kalkaji Extension Project, in-situ slum rehabilitation of three slum clusters -- Bhoomiheen camp, Navjeevan camp and Jawahar camp -- is being taken up in a phased manner.