Slum-free Doon still a distant dream

Abhyudaya Kotnala

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 3

The Dehradun Municipal Corporation’s (DMC) plan of making the capital city slum-free still remains a dream.

The DMC has spent crores of rupees on constructing flats for slum dwellers in the past six years. However, their are few takers.

The flats were constructed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) to provide basic services to the urban poor. Unfortunately, the project has failed to attract the targetted population allegedly due to political interference and the DMC’s failure to popularise the scheme.

The project was launched in five different areas of the city — Ramnagar, Brahmapuri (phases I & II), Kathbangla and Seetala Vihar — in 2009.

It aimed at rehabilitating slum dwellers, thereby removing encroachment. Each flat consists of two rooms, a kitchen and one toilet. The cost of accommodation was Rs 25,000 in easy installments.

However, due to “political interference and misleading comments by opposition leaders”, slum dwellers started opposing the project and refused to shift there.

This led to the cancellation of construction at Seetala Vihar and Bhramapuri (phase II). Construction work at Ramnagar and Bhramapuri (phase) was stopped after constructing a few flats, whereas work in the Kathbangla area could not meet the completion deadline.

Mayor Vinod Chamoli alleged their plan could not materialise due to cheap politics of Congress leaders. People refused to give their land for the construction of flats. Slum dwellers also refused to shift in new houses.

“It is strange that the MDDA is planning to construct residential flats at the cost of Rs 5 lakh, whereas flats built at the cost of Rs 25,000 are still vacant, ” he said. The DMC has now left it on the state government to take a final call on the allotment of flats.