The central government has taken a decision to provide ownership rights to 40 lakh people living in unauthorised colonies in Delhi due to poor living conditions there, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
"Land and colonisation are state subjects, maintenance of data on poverty and slums is a state subject. Therefore, the Delhi government is answerable, but the Delhi government has chosen not to. Therefore, we have taken the action," he said.
Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, the Housing and Urban Development Minister said out of Delhi's population of two crore, 40 to 50 lakh people live in unauthorised colonies.
"The conditions there are really crying out for attention and the government has responded by giving 'malkana haq' to these 40-50 lakh people," he said
Another 10 lakh people are living in JJ Clusters in Delhi, and the government is providing 'Jahan jhuggi wahin makaan' as part of a conscious policy, he said
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