Union Minister Harsh Malhotra, former Delhi minister Arvinder Singh Lovely, and BJP MLA Anil Bajpai, in a joint statement on Sunday, held the Delhi government’s negligence responsible for the eviction orders issued to the slum residents of Gandhi Nagar.
The BJP leaders strongly condemned former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s misleading political rhetoric on the matter.
They said that an administrative provision in Delhi mandates that no notice to vacate slums over 20 years old can be issued without prior approval from the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).
The leaders noted that the Gandhi Nagar slum settlement, whose residents have received eviction notices, is over six decades old, and therefore, it is unlikely that the land-owning agency issued the notice without DUSIB’s approval.
They further stated that instead of misleading the slum dwellers, Sisodia should clarify why the DUSIB department granted permission to the land-owning agency for the demolition of the slums.
The BJP leaders said that If the notice was issued without DUSIB’s consent, it is indicative of a disconnect between the department and the minister concerned.
If the Delhi government truly wishes to protect these slums, the DUSIB minister should convene a meeting, and the BJP will fully support it, they added.