EWS flats in Bhalswa: Yadav seeks concrete steps to complete project, not mere inspections

Responding to the inspection of the 7,400 EWS flats for slum dwellers in Bhalswa, conducted on Thursday by Delhi Minister Ashish Sood, Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav on Sunday said that mere inspections and photo opportunities would not complete a project that has remained unfinished for years.

In a statement, Yadav alleged that the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had spent years playing politics over the scheme’s name and claiming credit for it, whereas the reality is that the construction of these flats was initiated by the Congress government under the Rajiv Ratan Awas Yojana.

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Yadav, who was the local MLA at the time, said he had personally monitored the project, persistently engaged with the concerned departments to expedite the construction work, and worked to prioritise the rehabilitation of slum dwellers.

He remarked that it was extremely unfortunate that the project, which began in 2012, had still not become fully habitable even in 2026.

Hitting out at the previous AAP government, he said that due to the administrative failure and apathy of both the AAP government and the present BJP dispensation, thousands of poor families are still waiting to receive their homes.

Yadav said that the contract for constructing 3,400 flats under Phase II had been awarded to a company, but the agency halted work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and no effective punitive action has been taken against it to date, as stipulated in the contract.

Furthermore, he alleged that the lack of adequate security arrangements at the project site led to the theft of and damage to construction materials and government assets, resulting in a loss of public funds and further delays to the project.

Yadav remarked that despite repeated directives from the High Court, both the previous and the present governments had failed to complete the project.

He demanded that, if the BJP government was serious about the rehabilitation of slum dwellers, it should disclose the concrete steps it had taken over the past year and a half to complete the project.

The Congress leader also demanded that the projects in Bhalswa and Jahangirpuri Pocket-II be completed within a fixed timeframe, and urged that the pending work related to sewerage, roads, parks, boundary walls, and other basic amenities be carried out on a war footing.

He called for punitive action against all those responsible, including the company concerned, and insisted that eligible slum dwellers be allotted their homes without further delay.