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NEW DELHI: In the backdrop of LG VK Saxena transferring DUSIB CEO K Mahesh after finding many homeless people sleeping in the open in the biting cold, experts said Delhi needed a policy for rehabilitation of the homeless.
They added that shifting the homeless to temporary structures for three months during winters would not resolve the issue.
A book on shelters for homeless by commissioners of the Supreme Court estimated that at least 1% population of cities was homeless. Though Delhi has over 1.8 lakh homeless people based on this criterion, the city has 253 shelter homes, with a capacity of just 18,537.
According to a 2014 survey, there were 16,760 homeless, UNDP put the number at 55,955 and the 2011 Census noted 44,724. The civil society, however, believes at least 1% of the city’s population lives on the streets or footpaths.
Indu Prakash Singh, member, state level shelter monitoring committee, which was constituted on the order of the Supreme Court in 2018, said it was a big default that there was no policy for rehabilitation of the homeless.
“The policy needs to be framed for ensuring an adequate number of permanent shelter homes with bathrooms and toilets and a provision of upgrading of skills. The idea should be that after undergoing skill training, they should get better opportunities to move on in their lives,” added Prakash.
Prakash said, “According to Master Plan for Delhi 2021, there should be 19 lakh square feet of space for homeless persons. There is a deficit of around 75% of the MPD criteria, which has also been buttressed by the criteria of 50 square feet per person as per National Urban Livelihoods Mission’s Scheme of Shelter for Urban Homeless.”
Sunil Kumar Aledia, executive director, Centre for Holistic Development, said, “The government should conduct a survey on the number and condition of homeless people. The work on their rehabilitation should not be limited to three months during winter.
While making a policy on rehabilitation of the homeless comes under the domain of the AAP government, sources said the LG had insisted on immediate and interim sanitary arrangements at shelter homes. For the long term, he had instructed for having specific provisions in the Master Plan of Delhi 2041 to ensure ample, easy and enabling provisioning for them.
With the aim of making the capital begging-free, Delhi government in November last year had launched “Livelihood Support”, a pilot project to create livelihood opportunities for beggars through training and skill-building. A survey conducted by the social welfare department and Institute for Human Development in February 2021 showed there were 20,700 beggars. There was no immediate response available from Delhi government on the status of the programme.
They added that shifting the homeless to temporary structures for three months during winters would not resolve the issue.
A book on shelters for homeless by commissioners of the Supreme Court estimated that at least 1% population of cities was homeless. Though Delhi has over 1.8 lakh homeless people based on this criterion, the city has 253 shelter homes, with a capacity of just 18,537.
According to a 2014 survey, there were 16,760 homeless, UNDP put the number at 55,955 and the 2011 Census noted 44,724. The civil society, however, believes at least 1% of the city’s population lives on the streets or footpaths.
Indu Prakash Singh, member, state level shelter monitoring committee, which was constituted on the order of the Supreme Court in 2018, said it was a big default that there was no policy for rehabilitation of the homeless.
“The policy needs to be framed for ensuring an adequate number of permanent shelter homes with bathrooms and toilets and a provision of upgrading of skills. The idea should be that after undergoing skill training, they should get better opportunities to move on in their lives,” added Prakash.
Prakash said, “According to Master Plan for Delhi 2021, there should be 19 lakh square feet of space for homeless persons. There is a deficit of around 75% of the MPD criteria, which has also been buttressed by the criteria of 50 square feet per person as per National Urban Livelihoods Mission’s Scheme of Shelter for Urban Homeless.”
Sunil Kumar Aledia, executive director, Centre for Holistic Development, said, “The government should conduct a survey on the number and condition of homeless people. The work on their rehabilitation should not be limited to three months during winter.
While making a policy on rehabilitation of the homeless comes under the domain of the AAP government, sources said the LG had insisted on immediate and interim sanitary arrangements at shelter homes. For the long term, he had instructed for having specific provisions in the Master Plan of Delhi 2041 to ensure ample, easy and enabling provisioning for them.
With the aim of making the capital begging-free, Delhi government in November last year had launched “Livelihood Support”, a pilot project to create livelihood opportunities for beggars through training and skill-building. A survey conducted by the social welfare department and Institute for Human Development in February 2021 showed there were 20,700 beggars. There was no immediate response available from Delhi government on the status of the programme.
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