Cong slams Centre, Delhi govt for not coming to rescue of slum dwellers

Congress general secretary Ajay Maken's attack on the Central and Delhi governments came after the top court, on hearing applications including the one filed by him, said no coercive action be taken against the slum dwellers for four weeks.

The Congress on Monday accused the Centre and the Delhi government of indulging in rhetoric and not taking up in the Supreme Court its verdict directing the removal of around 48,000 slum dwellings along the railway tracks in the national capital within three months. Congress general secretary Ajay Maken's attack on the Central and Delhi governments came after the top court, on hearing applications including the one filed by him, said no coercive action be taken against the slum dwellers for four weeks. The order came after the Centre informed the Supreme Court that no slum dwellers along the 140 km length of railway tracks in Delhi would be removed till a final decision is taken by the government. "We hope that the protocol which was decided in front of the Division Bench (of Delhi High Court), which was not challenged by railway line, will be accepted and till the time these poor people are not provided in situ rehabilitation there, they should not be removed from there," he said.

The protocol referred to by Maken was the one ordered by the Delhi High Court in response to his plea filed in 2015. The Delhi High Court had ruled in 2019 that forced and unannounced eviction of jhuggi dwellers is contrary to the law and the authorities should ensure that the displaced people are immediately rehabilitated.

Maken slammed the Centre and the Delhi government for not taking the matter in the Supreme Court, saying they kept on indulging in rhetoric without taking action. Since the August 31 order was from the apex court, it could have been settled only by going to the top court, he said.

Hitting out at the Delhi government, Maken alleged that 35,000 flats built with the Centre's assistance provided under UPA rule were lying vacant, while 16,000 were still being constructed. The apex court has posted the matter for hearing after four weeks..