Ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, the mantra for the Centre is slum-specific welfare measures for the national Capital. After its initiative to regularise 1,731 unauthorised colonies, the HUA Ministry has lined up a plan to build 2 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY-Urban) in the slums of Delhi in Kalkakji Extension, Dilshad Garden, Ashok Vihar, Kathputli Colony among others. 

The move is targeted at 10 lakh beneficiaries from the slums, which are a major votebank for the AAP. The BJP-ruled Centre's focus is thus on such clusters both to make inroads into the ruling dispensation's stronghold as also to negate the impact of its various freebie schemes. The ministry also announced that the total number of houses being funded under the scheme to 1.3 crore under the housing for all scheme.

Addressing a press conference, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday accused the AAP government of trying to create hurdles in implementation of the PMAY-Urban in Delhi and said its political approach is based on a "pack of lies". Puri's allegations came three days after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana (MMAY) for Jhugi Jhopri (JJ) Clusters and distributed ownership certificates to 65,000 families living in the city's slum areas. "If development is going to be based on the nomenclature of a scheme, you deprive your own people..." Puri said.

The Delhi Government has created hurdles in every project, be it the construction of Metro Phase-IV or the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), he alleged. Whenever there was talk on the construction of Metro Phase-IV, the AAP Government tried to create hurdles, he said.

"In-situ rehabilitation of three JJ clusters at Kalkaji Extension, Kathputli Colony (Opposite Shadipur Depot) and Jailorwala Bagh (Ashok Vihar) will be completed by June 2020. As many as 7,500 two room houses has been completed or at advance stage.  The construction of 3,024 flats at Kalkaji Extension is likely to be completed by May-June, 2020 and the eligible beneficiaries will be handed over possession of these flats. 

"Out of 2,800 EWS houses under construction for JJ dwellers of Kathputli Colony, construction of about 500 houses is expected to be completed by March, 2020, which would be handed over to the eligible beneficiaries of Kathputli Colony.  Another 1,675 houses in Jailorwala Bagh (Ashok Vihar) are also likelyto be completed by December, 2020 for allotment to the beneficiaries of JJ Dwellers of Jailorwala Bagh," the Ministry said.

As per the data, there are 685 JJ clusters surveyed by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) and 85 inlisted clusters in Delhi. Puri alleged that since the PMAY (Urban) was launched in June 2015, not a single proposal has been received from the AAP Government. The Delhi Development Authority is the nodal agency for implementing in-situ slum rehabilitation of JJ Clusters residents on land owned by the DDA and the Centre, according to the Ministry.

With the approval of of 6.5 lakh houses under PMAY (Urban), taking the total number of houses being funded under the scheme to over 1.3 crore. Puri said in the next three-four months, the Ministry will sanction all the 1.12 crore houses, a target set by the Government.