Toilets in all slums by March 31, says Kejriwal
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that all slum clusters in the national capital will be made open defecation free by March 31 next year.
Speaking at the inaugural function of newly constructed toilet complex in Jangpura, Mr Kejriwal said over 10,000 community toilets have been constructed by the Delhi government in the last two years. “The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is a party of the poor. We got 67 of the 70 assembly seats because the poor voted for us. Our government has constructed 10,583 toilets in two years, which is a record,” the chief minister said.
Mr Kejriwal said soon after the AAP government was formed, he had enquired the officers about the time period for making all jhuggi jhopri (JJ) clusters in the city open defecation-free, adding that the time period assessed varied from five to 10 years.
“However, I gave them a target of two-three years and promised that there will not be any shortage of funds. All slum clusters will now become opendefecation free by March 2018,” Mr Kejriwal said while addressing a gathering at Madrasi Basti in Jangpura area. “Defecation in the open is the main problem for slum dwellers, especially women. A total of 810 new public toilets have been constructed across the city,” the AAP leader added.
A total of 810 toilets across the city, constructed by Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) and located at different locations, were inaugurated on Thursday. The CM said that the provision of toilets in the slums would be a big step in strengthening women safety, besides the government’s initiative to install CCTV cameras in city buses.
Mr Kejriwal said that no slum cluster, which came up till January 2015, will be allowed to be demolished till the time the residents are rehabilitated permanently. He said work on construction of 583 brick houses for slum dwellers in Sangam Vihar has started and would be completed in a few months. Urban development minister Satyendar Jain was also present at the event.