Indian Express 26.07.2010
Slum-dwellers won’t move, streetscaping hits block
Ayesha Arvind Tags : slums, commonwealth games Posted: Mon Jul 26 2010, 01:34 hrs
New Delhi: By its own admission, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is running behind schedule in its Commonwealth Games-related projects. Now, streetscaping work being carried out by the agency around Thyagaraj Stadium has hit a roadblock, with the MCD unsure of what to do with a stretch of slum clusters that fall in the way.According to officials, there are three small slum clusters on the stretch near the stadium on the side of the INA market, occupied by a 100-odd people hailing from Rajasthan. The inhabitants are mainly blacksmiths and claim to have been staying in the area for almost two decades now.
As per Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta, the agency had offered them an alternate spot a few months ago some distance away from the INA market, around an MCD primary school. The slum-dwellers, however, refused to move.
“They said they wanted to stay at the same spot or around the main road in front of the INA market, claiming it will bring them better business. It is impossible to allot them space at either these spots as they are extremely close to the Commonwealth Games venue,” Mehta said.
At the time of the “clean-up” of the areas around CWG venues, the agency had asked the slum dwellers to move “voluntarily” to the nearby alternate spot. The slum-dwellers protested and finally approached the Delhi High Court to get a stay on the removal.
A number of meetings between the Delhi government and the MCD have, meanwhile, been held to discuss the progress of the project and modalities for executing the removal of the slums. The agency has even sought “legal help” and is preparing a detailed application to present its case before the Delhi High Court. “Considering very little time is left for the Games, the project must make a headway soon. We will submit our application before the Delhi High Court this week,” said Leader of MCD House Subhash Arya.
While streetscaping work on the other side of the Thyagaraj Stadium is already complete, over 80 per cent of the work on the INA side is pending, MCD officials said.
The Rs 44-crore project has an August 31 deadline. In April, the MCD managed to remove 386 families dwelling in a slum cluster around the Barapullah Nallah after months of resistance, to make way for a parking lot.
