No regularisation of slums in Dehradun since 2016, despite directives: RTI activist, ET RealEstate
DEHRADUN: Despite a government ordinance dating back to 2018 that aimed to identify, regularise and eventually relocate slum colonies in Dehradun, no concrete action has been taken by the urban local bodies to address this issue, according to information obtained by a Dehradun-based RTI activist.
The RTI revealed that the Congress government in 2016 had first suggested regularisation of slums or relocation of the people there. The manual for this was prepared in September of that year. In June 2018, the Nainital high court ordered the removal of all such colonies from river beds and floodplains. However, following large-scale public objection, the new government brought an ordinance staying the evictions for three years. “Based on the directions of this ordinance, the government was supposed to identify and regularise these colonies to ensure public interest. The ordinance stay was then extended for another three years, until 2024. However, in all this time, no regularisation exercise has happened in the city,” said Naresh Naudiyal, a social activist associated with the Uttarakhand Parivartan Party.
Meanwhile, DMC officials said that the exercise has been pending at the government’s end. “Regularisation depends on the kind of land in question. We haven’t had any notice or instructions in this,” municipal commissioner Manuj Goyal said. Tanmayee Tyagi
