The Delhi government has written to the Ministry of Railways over the slum situation. (File)
Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta on Friday questioned Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's "silence" over the issue of slum dwellers living along railway tracks in the city, saying his party will rehabilitate them in city government's 52,000 vacant flats if it fails to do so.
The Supreme Court in its August 31 order issued directions for removal of around 48 slum dwellings along the railway tracks in Delhi within three months.
"Why is the chief minister of Delhi silent on the rehabilitation of slum dwellers living along railway tracks who are to be removed within three months," Mr Gupta asked.
He issued an ultimatum to the Arvind Kejriwal government accusing it of creating "obstructions" in the rehabilitation of slum dwellers.
"This is an ultimatum for the Delhi government that if they do not shift the slum dwellers in the 52,000 houses lying vacant within the next 90 days, then we will shift them in those vacant houses," he said.
Mr Kejriwal only "pretends" to be a well wisher of the slum dwellers, and that's why his government has deprived them of the benefit of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana by not implementing it in Delhi, charged the Delhi BJP president.
Aam Aadmi Party national spokesperson and MLA Raghav Chadha on Friday said the government has written to the Ministry of Railways and stated that without rehabilitation any such demolition is "unconstitutional and illegal".
He also said that the letter has noted that the BJP government should provide houses to every slum dweller and if they fail to do so then the Delhi government will provide houses to them.
In a letter sent to the Northern Railway divisional manager on Thursday, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), which is headed by Arvind Kejriwal, stated that in case of JJ (Jhuggi Jhopri) "bastis" (slum houses) existing on land owned by central government agencies like the Railways, rehabilitation will have to be done by them as per the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015.
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