Vote bank: Slums are back on parties' radar

Cong-NCP alliance says will provide protection to slums that were set up till the year 2000

The ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance in Maharashtra have said they will provide protection to slums that were set up till 2000. About 7.5 million reside in slums here.

The two parties will also highlight infrastructure upgrade projects in this city, which involve an investment of about Rs 60,000 crore, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. For this, a media blitzkrieg has been planned.

In the 2009 polls, the Congress had won five seats in Greater Mumbai, while the NCP won one. However, both the parties admit they have to strive to tackle anti-incumbency, as the Opposition Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance has highlighted delays in the completion of various infrastructure projects.

While inaugurating the Mumbai Monorail’s 8.93-km corridor on Sunday, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had said the monorail system would be the new logo here.

Mumbai Regional Congress Committee chief Janadardan Chandurkar said the city Congress unit has prepared booklets to be distributed among voters. “It was due to the state government’s efforts that the freeway became operational last year. After that, it's the monorail... Besides, the government has proposed a Rs 23,000-crore underground metro phase-III and an elevated rail corridor between Churchgate and Virar,” he said.

Previous governments in the state had also promised  to regularise slums, with 1985 and 1995 as the cut-off years. After the cut-off was extended to 1995, the high court here ruled further extensions could not be given; the state government has challenged this in the Supreme Court.

Chandurkar defended the decision to provide protection to slums set up till 2000. “At our party’s executive committee meeting, there was an unanimous view that the government should not go on citing the pending judgment from the apex court in this regard. The party has strongly demanded that the government fulfil its promise."

Chavan said though slum dwellers should be provided decent housing, while doing so, the government should firmly deal with the unholy nexus between realty firms, politicians and officials. Vidya Chavan, NCP legislator and chief of party’s women’s wing, supported the move, saying slum dwellers needed an uplift.

However, Vinod Tawde, leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, alleged the Congress-NCP alliance wasn’t serious in fulfilling its promises. “people will not vote the ruling alliance on such false promises. Congress-NCP had promised free power to farmers before the Assembly elections in 2004, but after three months, the scheme was closed,” he said.

The Shiv Sena claimed the Congress-NCP alliance's move to revive the issue of providing protection to those residing in slums set up till 2000 showed its insecurity. “It will not give them votes,” said Sena spokesperson Shweta Parulekar.