STATUS%20OF%20LIVING%20CONDITIONS%20OF%20URBAN%20POOR:%20DELHI

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STATUS OF LIVING CONDITIONS OF URBAN POOR DELHI

• Governments Plans and Commitments

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• The MCD standing committee has taken note of the
  miserable condition of public toilets and decided
  that no private player will be involved in their
  upkeep.
• The agency has decided to take matters in its own
  hands and sanctioned Rs. 50 crores for
  maintenance of public toilets.
• The engineer-in-chief was asked to submit a
  blueprint within the next 48 hours.
• (The Times of India, 31 May 07 MCD to keep
  private firms off public toilets (TNN) )

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• Keeping the Commonwealth Games in mind, the New
  Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) is all set to
  revamp a number of public convenience centres and
  make them more accessible for people with limited
  mobility
• NDMC roped in an NGO Svayam to conduct a survey
• A total of 94 public convenience centres have
  been identified
• The sewer lines would be laid in 30 villages. It
  would be ensured that all 189 rural villages that
  have been lagging in development of civic
  amenities are brought at par
• (The Hindu, 9 Jun 07 Delhis rural areas to get
  sewer lines Sheila (Staff Reporter) and The
  Times of India, 9 Jun 07, NDMC to revamp public
  toilet system (TOI reporter)

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• Following the success of Chiranjeevi scheme in
  Gujarat that helped pregnant women get free
  delivery services from private institutions, the
  Delhi Health Department plans to tie up with
  private hospitals to provide maternity and child
  care to below the poverty line (BPL) families.
• The Indian Express, 18 May 07 BPL families to
  get maternity, childcare (Teena Thacker)

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• The Delhi Cabinet approved an incentivebased
  Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) Scheme
  in Delhi.
• 5,450 activists would be deployed to cover 109
  lakh residents of cluster, resettlement colonies,
  unauthorized colonies and rural villages under
  the scheme.
• Under this scheme, women who volunteer from local
  community will be selected and trained to
  reinforce community action
• (The Indian Express, 22 May 07 Cabinet okays
  ASHA for ailing Delhi (ENS) and The Hindu, 22
  May 07 New social health scheme for vulnerable
  sections (Staff Reporter))

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• The PWD department of the Delhi government would
  put up a Cabinet note in its next meeting for
  allowing only one civic agency to be engaged in
  developmental works in 1,072 regularised
  unauthorized colonies in the capital.
• Delhi Jal Board was instructed to begin laying
  down pipe water supply in these colonies.
• Only concrete cement roads would be constructed
  in these colonies now onwards.
• (The Asian Age, 10 May 07 One civic agency to
  work in regularized colonies (Correspondent) )

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• The government is planning to promote low-cost
  housing for the urban poor.
• The construction of the 10,000 flats for people
  living in slums and JJ clusters is expected to
  begin soon as land of the project
• (The Indian Express, 2 Jun 07 Slum relocation
  Revenue Dept moves land for project to DSIIDC
  (ENS) )

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• Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit claimed that
  the jhuggi clusters in the capital will soon be
  history.
• The government has decided to start construction
  of 40,000 low-cost flats for JJ dwellers and
  other members of economically weaker sections
  under a crash programme.
• JJ dwellers will not be forced to be witness of
  uprooting of jhuggies, bulldozers in slums and
  resettlement again and again.
• They will have a respectful address in
  four-storey complex with ownership right.
• (The Asian Age, 10 Jun 07 Sheila JJ clusters
  will soon be history (Correspondent)

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• The government will start construction of flats
  in large scale in July this year.
  dwellers
• The government will make available easy loan for
  the flats, which will be located in a well
  developed area with schools, dispensaries, shops,
  playgrounds among other civic necessities.
• (The Asian Age, 10 Jun 07 Sheila JJ clusters
  will soon be history (Correspondent)
• Sajjan Kumar, the Congress MP promised that the
  Delhi Jal Board would not be collecting
  development charges from residents of
  unauthroised colonies while laying water
  pipelines in their areas.
• The Hindu, 6 Jun 07 DJB breather for illegal
  colonies (Staff reporter)

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• Recently, a committee was formed comprising
  senior officials of MCD, Urban Development
  Ministry, and DJB to work out the details of
  these plans and to find an alternative to speed
  up the process of making the layout plans for
  these 1,400-odd colonies.
• (The Times of India, 8 Jun 07 After legal tag,
  colonies have to wait 3 yrs for water, drains
  (Ruhi Bhasin))

• Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister Delhi said the
  residents of JJ clusters would also be able to
  apply for ration cards from next month and this
  would enable them to derive all benefits under
  the Public Distribution System.
• (The Hindu, 26 May 07 Move to woo residents of
  slum clusters in Delhi (Staff reporter)

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What is the Community Experiencing?
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• The closure of several public toilets in the
  lower income group residential areas in Delhi
  including Kalyanpuri, Sunlight Colony, Janata
  Mazdoor Colony and Tigri slums has resulted in
  denial of basic living amenities to women and
  the elderly.
• Especially hit are women and young girls who have
  had to battle the situation for nearly a year
  now.
• Of the 228 households only 25 per cent have their
  own toilets
• (The Hindu, 4 Jun 07 Women hit by
  closure of public toilets )

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• Residents of Samgam Vihar staged a complete bandh
  on 17 Jun 07 to protest against the slow pace of
  regularization by the government.
• They were protesting against the lack of civic
  amenities in their area, including poor supply of
  water and electricity.
• According to MLA of the area, there are severe
  water and sewage problems and nobody is willing
  to take them up.
• (The Times of India, 18 Jun 07 Sangam Vihar
  shuts down over bijli, paani

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What are Experts Saying?
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• With no proper layout plans available with the
  MCD for the unauthorized colonies regularized,
  it will take at least three year after they
  get the legal tag to provide these 14,000 odd
  colonies with proper sewer and water pipelines.
• (The Times of India, 8 Jun 07 After legal tag,
  colonies have to wait 3 yrs for water, drains
  (Ruhi Bhasin) )

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Relief Measures
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• Cabinet extends grant of temporary relief from
  forcible action to unauthorized construction in
  the Capital in the form of encroachment by slum
  and jhuggi-khonpri dwellers, hawkers and urban
  street vendors by according its approval for
  promulgation of the National Capital Territory of
  Delhi Laws (special Provisions) Ordinance 2007.
• The decision was taken after Union Minister for
  Urban Development S. Jaipal Reddy had along with
  his deputy Ajay Maken met Delhi
  Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna and CM Sheila
  Dikshit to discuss the issue.
• The Hindu, 17 Jun 07, 1 more year of relief for
  slum dwellers

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• The Lt. Governor of Delhi Mr. Tejinder Khanna has
  turned the largely ceremonial office into a
  monitoring authority that is now closely watching
  the responses of Sheila Dikshit government.
• Mr. Khanna has opened The Listening Post under
  the grievances redressal system a centre that
  received the complaints, registers them and puts
  on a website that has been specially created for
  the purpose.
• All government department heads are required to
  log in everyday, check the website for specific
  complaints, take action and inform the Lt.
  Governor of this on the website itself.
• (The Asian Age, 25 May 07, New monitoring
  authority (Manish Anand)