The Supreme Court today pulled up the Centre for not monitoring the implementation of National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) meant for urban poor and homeless people, saying "we do not know where the poor people of this country are heading for."
"It is your (Centre) scheme. You have to fulfill it, otherwise scrap it", the social justice bench of justices Madan B Lokur and U U Lalit said when the counsel for the Centre accused some of the states for tardy implementation of the welfare scheme.
The bench took strong note of the fact that the states did not spend the allocated fund under NULM and moreover, there was no visible relief allegedly given to urban poor.
"We do not know where the poor people of this country are heading for. There are concerns. Government of India is helpless," it said.
The observation came when the court was told that in the financial year 2014-15 of the Rs 1078 crores allocated under NULM and only Rs 451 crores have been spent without any visible relief reaching the urban poor.
It asked the Centre to tell state governments that they can get the money under the scheme only after they locate the land for shelter homes.
Earlier, the court had questioned why despite the huge sum spent under NULM for constructing permanent shelter homes in 790 cities there was no new facility in some states and said "it is a scam".
The Centre has provided Rs 1,078 crore to states under the scheme which is meant to provide shelters to homeless people in urban centres.
Prior to this, the Centre had said that 27 states, including Union Territories, have set up the executive committee in terms of NULM for the purposes of permanent housing structures in 790 urban cities.
It had said that the matter is being taken up with the remaining states and UTs to ensure that the executive committees are put in place at the earliest.
The ministry had also stated that it would regularly monitor the setting up permanent housing structures in 790 urban centres and the states and UTs would be asked to give monthly reports.
