NGO writes to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for survey on homeless people

Also, in accordance to the High Court order, the Joint Apex Advisory Committee which was constituted to ensure coordination between government agencies and NGOs while taking decisions on infrastructure development and related works should meet once in every 15 days to address the issues of the homeless, he suggested. “The issues of the homeless should not be raked up only in winters, rather work on this should be carried out throughout the year,” Aledia said in the letter.

He further suggested that the Aajeevika – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM)– should be implemented for the welfare of the homeless. In his letter he mentioned that the constituency of the Chief Minister doesn’t have a single pakka night shelter which is a matter of worry and urged him to pay special attention to the issue.

As per official figures, the number of homeless people far outstrips the capacity of the existing night shelters. Last month Supreme court had ordered the forming of a panel to look into the monitoring of the shelters and has also pressed the Centre and states to ensure adequate shelters are in place for the homeless.

The Supreme Court Commissioner’s Office cited the population of homeless at over 2 lakh in 2011, the census estimated it as 46,724 in the same year. There are 261 night shelters operating in Delhi this winter, which include 21 meant solely for women.