CM announces Secretariat revamp, 50,000 flats for poor

 The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday said the time had come for the Capital to have a new integrated Secretariat to house all government departments under one roof as she launched a month-long cleanliness campaign.

Addressing officials at the Department of Women and Child Development in Kashmere Gate, Ms. Gupta expressed strong displeasure over the dilapidated condition of the building. “The ceilings are leaking, furniture is broken, cupboards are damaged, and fans are in such poor condition that they could fall at any moment,” she said, questioning how governance could be delivered effectively in such an environment.

“We will take steps in this direction. A suitable location will be identified for the new Delhi Secretariat. Our officials cannot be left to work in such miserable conditions any longer,” Ms. Gupta said.

Housing promise

 The CM’s remarks came after launching the ‘Dilli Ko Koode Se Azadi’ (freedom from garbage for Delhi) campaign, which will run from August 1 to 31. It aims at making the city cleaner, greener, and garbage-free, with coordination among multiple agencies and active citizen participation. Ms. Gupta also announced that around 50,000 flats, built more than a decade ago in the outer areas of the city under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, will be renovated and handed over to slum dwellers.

“The previous governments never bothered to allocate these flats, despite claiming to work for the poor. As a result, the units became uninhabitable over time,” Ms. Gupta said, adding that these flats will now be provided to eligible slum dwellers under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana -Urban.

The CM said departments like the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board and the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation had been allocated over ₹700 crore for the project, but the funds went unused and were nearly returned to the Centre. “The Centre has now approved their use for the renovation of these flats.  Our government will ensure  rehabilitation of eligible slum dwellers so that they can be participants in Delhi’s growth story,” she said.