Title - Railway land slum dwellers to be rehabilitated under EWS scheme

In order to expedite the expansion programme of the Railways in Delhi and to remove the hurdles coming in the way of implementation of its various projects, particularly those related to widening of rail corridors, the Delhi Cabinet on Monday decided to provide housing under the EWS scheme to slum dwellers who have for long been encroaching on its land.The decision is likely to impact in a major way the construction of several projects including that of an elevated 3.075 km grade separator in the Karampura area of Central Delhi which is almost 50 per cent complete now and would help train operations on the Delhi-Rohtak line.This project, which sought to do away with bunching of trains in the area by allowing trains using the Delhi Avoiding Line to take the corridor and go over the Delhi-Rohtak line, which at present intersects the DAL at two places, had got stalled due to the presence of nearly 2,000 jhuggis between the Daya Basti and Shakur Basti railway stations.

Cost escalation
The Railways had in the past expressed serious concern about the matter and said the project cost could escalate sharply from around Rs. 54.15 crore to about Rs. 149 crore due to the delay. Till March 2010, it had already spent about Rs. 40 crore on the project which was sanctioned in 1999-2000.

Railway officials said presently the Delhi Avoiding line (used by goods trains) crosses the main Dehi-Rohtak line at two places between Daya Basti and Shakur Basti stations, leading to bunching of trains on both the lines which disrupts normal train operations. The ambitious project comprises four bridges including two over drains, and a rail under bridge and a rail track flyover.

The Railway had been complaining that despite its having paid. Rs 11.25 crore for relocation on the slum tenements in 2005, the Delhi Government had not acted in the matter.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Cabinet has also decided that the process of allotment of houses under the EWS scheme would be started within a month's time with about 500 flats expected to be given out in the first phase. Sources said thereafter between 500 and 1,000 flats would be allotted each month out of a pool of about 14,000 flats that have already been constructed by Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

The Government has also decided to allot flats to eligible slum dwellers on DUSIB and Delhi Government sites at the first instance. The Department of Welfare of SC/ST/OBC/Minorities has been told to release the financial assistance to eligible Scheduled Caste slum dwellers being relocated by DUSIB. It would provide them subsidy covering the entire amount of beneficiary contribution.