JOIN USThe rehabilitation of slum clusters situated along the railway tracks in north Delhi's Azadpur area has not taken off because none of the agencies concerned – Railways and DUSIB – is willing to bear the entire “relocation cost”.
While the National Green Tribunal (NGT) recently rapped the Railways for not being able to prevent open defecation along the tracks, the Railways laid the blame on Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) for its failure to relocate the slums blamed for the problem.
A DUSIB official said the Railways – which owns the land on which the slums have come up – is not willing to “share” the relocation cost.
The Railways had given around Rs 12 crore as the relocation cost to the DUSIB for rehabilitation of slum dwellers in the city a few years ago.
But the DUSIB now says the cost has shot up in the past couple of years and the Railways should pay more.
“When the Railways gave the money to the DUSIB, the cost of land was Rs 29,000 per plot. But now it is Rs 1.5 lakh per flat,” the official told Deccan Herald.
“The DUSIB is supposed to shift slum dwellers into flats under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). One has to take into consideration the construction cost as well the cost of the land on which the beneficiaries will be given flats. Slum dwellers will be given flats on a 10-year lease and after that they can convert them into freehold,” he added.
Agreement
“The rehabilitation cost has to be borne by the Centre, the state and the land-owning agency as per the Delhi Slum Policy. Talks have been taking place between both the agencies and soon they will come to an agreement,” the official said.
The area in question is a seven-kilometre stretch near Dayabasti in Azadpur.
Since last year the NGT has been directing the Railways to check open defecation along its tracks and maintain cleanliness on the platforms at the New Delhi station.
The Railways, however, accuse the DUSIB of not relocating the slums despite completing the survey of five out of the six clusters.
Recently, the Railways said in a petition to the NGT that a “permanent solution” to the menace of open defecation and maintaining cleanliness on platforms is relocation of these slums.
Last week, the NGT had directed the Railways to impose a fine of Rs 5,000 on those found defecating or throwing garbage on the tracks.