Delhi elections: Houses to replace jhuggis at dhobi ghat, Hardeep Puri vows

NEW DELHI: A stone’s throw away from the offices of Aam Aadmi Party and Delhi Congress near dhobi ghat on Minto Road, Union minister of housing and urban affairs Hardeep Puri on Thursday addressed a nukkad sabha as campaigning for assembly elections drew to a close.
Puri assured the pradhans of the ghats and those gathered there that if a Bharatiya Janata Party government was formed, the central government scheme of providing houses in place of jhuggis (jahan jhuggi, wahin makaan) would be implemented at the ghats.“Both Kejriwal and Congress talk a lot, but have failed on all counts. In 1947, Delhi’s population was just 8 lakh. Now it has reached above 2.5 crore. More than 50 lakh people live in kacchi colonies,” he added.
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The minister criticised AAP for delaying the regularisation process of illegal colonies. “In their last manifesto, they had assured that within one year they would regularise all the colonies. AAP kept delaying the process and at the end sought two more years.”
Detailing how the grant of ownership rights was passed by the National Democratic Alliance government, Puri said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t even take five minutes to reach a decision. He asked me to submit a proposal in the cabinet meeting and it was passed immediately.”
Criticising AAP for not allowing Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in the capital, the minister told the washermen, “It is our vision that by 2022 all Indians should have a two-room house, kitchen, toilet and gas connection. We started the process in 2015. The ownership of the houses will be with the women in the family. This will help empower women. We assure you that we will provide houses right here and you won’t have to go to Dwarka.”
The senior BJP functionary claimed that 1 crore houses had been cleared in December. “Kejriwal did not allow it in Delhi saying he will implement the CM housing scheme. But Modiji has decided to provide houses in place of jhuggis. Delhi Development Authority has stated surveys and the process is about to be completed in Kathputli Colony,” he added.
Slamming AAP for rebranding dispensaries as mohalla clinics and not implementing the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat scheme, Puri said, “We will provide healthcare up to Rs 5 lakh.”