Eyeing 2020 polls, AAP to focus on finishing development projects

Over the past month, almost every public meeting that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has attended in Delhi has been an inauguration of development work in unauthorised colonies and JJ clusters.

Arvind Kejriwal says budget ‘final jumla of Modi govt, disappointing’

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. (Source: PTI/File)

In what is going to be its last budget before the 2020 Assembly elections, the Delhi government will renew its push to complete development work in unauthorised colonies. Over the past month, almost every public meeting that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has attended in Delhi has been an inauguration of development work in unauthorised colonies and JJ clusters. Since January, projects to inaugurate sewer lines, water pipelines and roads were held in Mongolpuri, Burari, Bawana, Badarpur, Mustafabad, Badli and Patel Nagar.

At Badli, the CM inaugurated work on drains, roads and streets at a cost of Rs 97.86 crore. A statement from the government said the development would benefit 1 lakh people. In Patel Nagar on Wednesday, work worth Rs 2.47 crore on drains and lanes in JJ colonies was inaugurated.

“ We made big promises to the public in education and health and kept them. Our push in both these sectors will continue this year as well. New classrooms, schools and mohalla clinics are our priorities. A renewed impetus is also being planned for unauthorised colonies. Many of them did not even have roads, let alone sanitation and water facilities. These are basic things required to live with dignity,” said a senior official.

Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri told reporters Tuesday the Delhi government had stalled regularisation of unauthorised colonies and had asked for two more years to complete groundwork for these colonies to be authorised. But Delhi government officials said the plan had been approved by them and is pending with the ministry for approval.

Regularisation of unauthorised colonies was the biggest infrastructure and land-related promise made by the Aam Aadmi Party in its manifesto. Work on the project, however, has been slow. It is not just the AAP government that has faced problems in regularising these colonies. Such proposals date back to at least 2002, when the Congress was in power. During its 15 years in Delhi, Congress pledged to regularise colonies several times, with only a handful getting regular status.

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