Delhi: Once-in-5-year opportunity for have-nots

NEW DELHI: With elections looming on the horizons, the work had begun to improve lives in the capital, especially in underdeveloped areas. Such initiatives — or the lack of them — have given people in these places something to think about when walking to the polling booths, as TOI found out when it visited nine slums and unauthorised colonies in the capital. Aam Aadmi Party or BJP or Congress? The people in these little-served areas will decide on May 12.


Electricity and water could swing votes

The AAP government’s thrust on providing sewerage and cheap water and electricity to the unauthorised colonies may pay dividends with the majority of residents in such places expressing happiness with the amenities, basic as they may, they have been given in the past four years.

“There has been an improvement in water and electricity supply. We are happy with the AAP government and feel they can do much more for us,” said Ajay Pandey, a cook from south Delhi’s Govindpuri. Ram Sood, a resident of Sangam Vihar, added, “Earlier we had to go to neighbouring places for water, but we now get pipelined supply, so we are happy with the Kejriwal government.”

In north-east Delhi’s unauthorised colony of Seelampur area, Asif Hussain said the water was cleaner and cheaper, and though sanitation remained a problem the people appreciated the setting up of government medical clinics.

It’s not all hurrahs everywhere though. Cheap water hasn’t meant clean water in some areas. Pushpa Singh, an anganwadi worker in Bhalswa, has to use bottled water for drinking. “The quality of water here is pathetic. It is yellow in colour and is often contaminated with cow dung. Forget about drinking it, we avoid using it even for laundry,” Singh said. Babita, who lives in the slum cluster in Kalyanpuri, had a similar grouse and warned, “It seems the government is only interested in impressing voters and we may vote for national parties like BJP or Congress this time.”

Roads to electoral victory

The busy Sangam Vihar main road looks like a river in spate due to the DJB pipeline being laid there. The locals cope by hopping on a pathway of bricks. Rashidan, a resident of the area, negotiates the slush with her daughter-in law and one-year-old grandson to reach their favourite snack-seller, proving the residents are accustomed to the inconvenience.

“Sewers or drains overflowing is quite normal here,” Rashidan said with equanimity. “The AAP government started laying down the sewer lines soon after the election in 2015, but the work stopped midway.” She thinks, however, as do many others, that the government has at least thought about resolving their day-to-day problems.

“We shifted from Nizamuddin seven years ago hoping for a better place to live in,” she added, “and I think our decision was right. We have water supply, electricity connections and even sewer lines in parts of the area. We hope that after the elections, the elected representatives will complete the pending work.”

Over at Bhalswa Dairy, an unauthorised settlement next to the Bhalswa landfill, an entire road has been dug up to lay sewer lines. “The political parties get into action at the last minute. No work was done for the last 4-5 years,” grumbled Sangeeta Sinha, a resident there. In west Delhi’s Sudamapuri slums, there’s a similar complaint. “Numerous pleas for storm water drains fell on deaf ears until recently,” said Ram Sahay pointing at the dug-up areas.

Regularisation can pull in the votes

Roads and drains are not the main concern in Keshav Nagar, an illegal settlement near Burari. Developed in the late 1980s by a private builder, the colony never got regularised and has been fighting for this since. “In 1988, the property dealer assured me that the colony would be regularised soon, so I bought a plot here,” said Chander S. Katariya. He said the houses there have electricity connections and drinking water is supplied every three days, but it did not get a regular-colony tag despite surveys in 1993, 2004, 2007 and 2012.

Prior to the 2008 assembly elections, then chief minister Sheila Dikshit had handed over provisional certificates to 1,290 such colonies, but only 895 colonies were declared eligible for regularisation. The process took three to four years. During the AAP tenure, work began on providing water and sewerage in many colonies, but not one has been regularised. This might have a bearing on the votes.

State or national? Modi or Kejriwal?

“If this was a state election, our votes would have gone to Arvind Kejriwal. But Narendra Modi is still the person to lead India at the central level,” declared Chander Mohan of Devli. Like him, most residents of unauthorised colonies accepted that AAP had done a lot of development work in the city, but wondered if it wasn’t more appropriate to vote for a national party in the Lok Sabha polls.

Mahendra Singh of Jahangirpuri reasoned, “Even if it wins the seven seats, with just seven MPs how can AAP manage the issues of Delhi colonies or contribute to policymaking?” And Ram Prasad in west Delhi’s Dara Basaipur village asserted, “The Prime Minister is doing good work nationally, so we want to vote for change and growth.”

Change our lives, be assured of our votes

Like voters across the country, people in these illegal colonies too see the elections as an opportunity for change. Dharmendra Singh, a resident of Govindpuri, was quite specific. “Other unauthorised colonies have got Mohalla Clinics and toilet blocks. We haven’t, and want such amenities here too,” he said.

The hopes are high. “We haven’t seen our elected representatives for the past three years. But there has been a sudden increase in social projects. Party workers are even visiting us to talk about our problems. I hope this exercise is continued throughout the year,” said Satbir Singh, a resident of Bhalswa Dairy.

The biggest change Singh hopes to see is with the overburdened sanitary landfill. “People are living in hell here, suffering all sorts of respiratory problems. Unfortunately, no one is concerned about finding solutions to this problem,” muttered the voter.

A dilemma of choice

The anti-BJP voters are in a bit of a quandary. “Our lives have improved, and we are no longer dependent on water tankers or illegal power connections,” said a resident of Jagjeevan Camp, Govindpuri. “But if AAP were to join hands with Congress, then the votes would not be divided and the two parties could more easily win the seats.”

Others thought Congress was the way to go. “It is the bigger party and has the experience required to help people like us,” said Mohammad Kafeel in east Delhi’s Seelampur.