Deadline for Ordinance over slum colonies to end soon
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 21 Oct: With the deadline for the demolition of slum colonies built along the river banks issued by Uttarakhand High Court ending, the issue regarding the future of the slum colonies has again become a hot topic in the political circles of the state. However, the government has today made moves to indicate that it favoured regularisation of these slum colonies. In addition to the BJP MLA Vinod Chamoli holding a press conference today in this regard, a statement has also been issued by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in this regard. Dhami has informally asserted that slum- colonies will remain safe and the government will take steps to ensure this.
It may be recalled that the existence of over 40,000 houses built in 129 slum colonies in Dehradun is currently in danger in view of the deadline issued by the High Court. Three years ago, the state government had extended the tenure of the ordinance for the second time for three years. The period of this ordinance expires on 23 October. After this, 582 slums across the state, including Dehradun, will automatically come under the illegal category, and the High Court’s order regarding the removal of illegal settlements will come into force.
However, the CM has reiterated the slums will remain as they are, and that the government is completely sensitive towards slums and the people living in them. In such a situation, the government will work to save the slum colonies. Urban Development Minister Prem Chand Aggarwal today shared that there had been a detailed discussion with the Chief Minister on this matter. The state government wants a permanent solution to this issue. For the time being, a quick fix solution may be decided by the government to save the colonies but the government is strongly in favour of a permanent solution in this regard and keeping this in mind, long-term solutions are also being discussed and considered.
It may be recalled that the demand for regularising slums located on the banks of Rispana and Bindal rivers and other seasonal and perennial rivers and nullahs in Dehradun, and granting them ownership rights, is being raised for years. Since the formation of Uttarakhand, successive governments have failed to either evict these slum colonies or to find a permanent a solution. During every election, people living in slums are treated as a vote bank by all political parties and during the municipal elections in particular, this issue tends to become a major issue.
However, just before the civic elections in 2018, the Nainital High Court had ordered the evacuation of all these slums and their rehabilitation. Consequently, the Dehradun Nagar Nigam had to serve notices to the slum residents to evict the colonies. But in view of the municipal elections, the then BJP government led by Trivendra Singh Rawat had chosen to bring an ordinance to save all the 582 settlements of the state. Of course, it needs to be reminded here that the ordinance was an interim arrangement for three years, during which the government had also promised that a permanent solution would be found. For the first time, the ordinance had expired in 2021, but the government extended the period of the ordinance for another three years. This extension ends on 23 October. There is now confusion about the existence of the slums. This poses a tough challenge for the government regarding where to relocate the affected people.
Politics over slums is not new in Uttarakhand. Both Congress and BJP have attacked each other on this issue, focusing on the voters in slums. In all likelihood, once again, the government may address this problem by issuing an ordinance instead of bringing a permanent solution soon enough to tackle the issue.
