Calling it a gimmick to appease voters in poll-bound Delhi, Congress today slammed Centre's decision to regularise 895 unauthorised colonies, alleging if the BJP-led government was really worried about such people, then why weren't its MLAs here spending their local area fund.
"This government did not do its homework before announcing its so called love for poor people, and with Assembly polls ahead, it has played a gimmick to appease the voters. If this government was really serious, then it should have pressurised MCDs to frame layout plan for these unauthorised colonies," DPCC chief Arvinder Singh Lovely told reporters here today.
The party said that the decision will merely extend the cut-off date for regularisation of such colonies over the previous resolution that was brought out by the then UPA government in 2007.
Citing his own experience as an urban development minister in the Delhi government, the DPCC chief further said that out of 1539 colonies, Congress had already cleared regularisation of 895 colonies.
"Then I fail to understand how this regularisation would benefit people," Singh said.
Accusing BJP of taking this decision to help only property dealers, Singh also slammed the central government for not "releasing the money and cutting down" the budget size for Delhi.
"Not even a single paisa (pice) has been allocated for the betterment of Delhi and in last one year, the MCDs have made layout plan for only five unauthorised colonies," he claimed.
Singh also accused the BJP MLAs of not using the MLA Local Area Development (LAD) fund.
"If this government is really worried about those living in unauthorised colonies, then I have a question for them. Why are they not using MLA-LAD funds for these needy people.
Whenever, government has announced to help people living in unauthorised colonies, next day they have bulldozed shanties somewhere else. Let us see, who are the next one, going to be bulldozed," he said.
