40 lakh slum dwellers in Delhi to win property rights

Agencies
October 25, 2019

Oct 25: Almost 2,000 informal settlements in Delhi are set to be legalised under a new law agreed by the government this week, which ministers said would give more than 4 million residents the right to own their homes in India's capital.

Union Cabinet this week passed a bill to regularise 1,797 unauthorised slums in the country's most populous city, giving residents ownership rights at "minimal rates" that would enable them to build and sell properties and take loans.

Mapping is to begin shortly, according to a statement from the ministry of housing and urban affairs, with the bill due to be presented for passage during the next session of parliament from mid-November.

"It will transform the lives of more than 40 lakh (4 million) residents who came to Delhi in search of a better life and livelihood but were forced to live in squalor," said Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

"Besides providing a legitimate claim to the property, the decision will encourage property holders to invest in safe structures, thereby improving living conditions in these colonies substantially," he said at a press briefing this week.

The plan to regularise Delhi's unauthorised settlements had been floated for more than a decade. Earlier this year, the Delhi government said it would study about 1,700 such settlements and consider a plan to legalise them.

Most inhabitants are migrant workers from other parts of India who cannot afford regular housing in the city of more than 18 million people.

Authorities have built roads and drains in some settlements, but many lack basic facilities and residents face the constant threat of eviction, according to housing rights activists.

Under the proposed law, authorities will map the boundaries of the slum areas, and prepare a plan. Residents will have to provide basic documentation and pay a nominal charge to register their property and receive the title, Puri said.

"It will pave the way for incentivised planned urbanisation, and transform urban squalor into modern urban spaces with modern amenities. Work will start immediately," he said.

Worldwide, about 1 billion people live in slums and informal settlements. By 2030, 3 billion people will lack access to adequate and affordable housing, according to UN-Habitat, the United Nations' settlements agency.

Regularising Delhi's unauthorised colonies has been a campaign promise of many political parties, and this week's announcement comes months ahead of a local election that must be held by February next year.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the federal government had declined to act on the city's earlier proposal for legalising informal settlements.

"While welcome and urgently required, the announcement to regularise 'unauthorised' colonies has been made so many times without being implemented, that it is unclear what it means," said Shivani Chaudhry, executive director, Housing and Land Rights Network, a non-profit in Delhi.

The regularisation process must be an inclusive one that does not exclude people on account of faulty surveys, minor technicalities, or their inability to pay, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Friday.

"It must ensure equal access to basic services, adequate housing, and protection from demolition and eviction."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 6,2020

New York, Mar 6: A 23-year-old Indian with a student visa in the US has pleaded guilty to sexual enticement of a minor girl, prosecutors have said.

Sachin Aji Bhaskar faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

He pleaded guilty before Senior US District Judge William M Skretny to sexual enticement of a minor.

The charge carries a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life in prison, a fine of USD 250,000 or both, US Attorney James P Kennedy said.

Prosecutors alleged that Bhaskar communicated by text and email with an 11-year-old girl for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.

Through those communications, Bhaskar enticed the victim to engage in a sexual activity with him in August, 2018, they said.

The sentencing in the case is scheduled for June 17.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 7,2020

Mumbai, Jan 7: Facing criticism from social media and political quarters for holding a 'Free Kashmir' poster during a protest against violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Mehak Prabhu, a Mumbai-based storyteller, on Tuesday clarified that she meant to highlight the restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir and wishes to see peace in the region, adding she had no other motive behind her actions.

"At around 7 pm yesterday, I reached where the protest was happening at the Gateway of India. Like anybody else who believes in democracy, I also joined that protest. We were standing for justice to the JNU students," Prabhu said in a video posted on Facebook.

"I saw a bunch of people who were painting placards on every issue like NRC, CAA and for JNU students. There was a placard lying on the side which said 'Free Kashmir'. The first thing which came to my mind when I saw that placard was about the basic constitutional rights of Kashmiris," she said.

Prabhu also said that she was not a Kashmiri and was brought up in Mumbai. She outlined that she was standing with a flower in her hand and asserted that the entire matter was "completely blown out of proportion".

"I was quietly standing with a flower in my hand. This means we need to make peace together. That was my only intention in holding that placard. The narrative that has been put out is absolutely wrong," she said, describing the reactions to the matter was "crazy".

The Mumbai-based storyteller underlined that the incident is scary and urged the people to spread the words of what she said and not hatred.

"The way it has gone, it is very scary. I am a simple person. As a woman, it is very scary for my safety right now. Spread this side of my story and let's stop it here. Let us not spread the hate. It has happened to me, it can happen to anyone. We should not live in fear," Prabhu further said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 10,2020

New Delhi, July 10: Hours before gangster Vikas Dubey was killed in an alleged police encounter on Friday, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court demanding urgent listing for action into his "possible killing" by Uttar Pradesh Police.

Advocate Ghanshyam Upadhyay had apprehended in his plea that there is a high possibility that Dubey will also be killed in a 'fake' encounter after his arrest from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh a day ago.

Upadhyay claimed that the UP Police was expected to "concoct the same story of encounter" for Dubey like it did when four of his associates were killed after the 2 July incident.

Dubey was the primary accused in the killing of eight policemen in Kanpur on July 2. He was arrested from Ujjain on Thursday. He was killed in a police encounter, when he allegedly tried to flee on Friday morning.

"During the hunt for Dubey and co-accused, five of his accused aides were arrested/caught and then killed by the police in the name of encounter...Thus, there is every possibility that even Dubey shall be killed by Uttar Pradesh Police like other co-accused once his custody is obtained," Upadhyay feared.

He submitted that the killing of the accused by the police in the name of encounter no matter how heinous the crime was "against the rule of law and serious violation of human rights and nothing sort of Talibanisation of the country". Upadhyay sought hearing in the matter on Friday itself, citing extreme urgency.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.