In fact, all the prime minister needs to do to see the horrible conditions in which the domestic helps, sweepers and others working at the posh government buildings as well as the various armed forces’ clubs – Race Course Club, Flying Club, Riding Club – in the area, live in, is to take a five-minute stroll from his 7 RCR residence.
Interestingly, the chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s constituency, New Delhi, houses 27 of the 31 slums situated in Lutyens’ Delhi. The details were obtained as part of an RTI query filed by
Millennium Post with NDMC.
‘Malik ke ghar ke peeche, naukar ka ghar hoga (Servants’ quarters should be close to the employer’s residence),’ said Ramesh Kumar, recalling the promise of local MP Ajay Maken that he had made to the slum-dwellers during his visit to the jhuggi-jhopri (JJ) cluster in 2009 Lok Sabha election campaign.
‘Maken became minister but never came here since then,’ said a group of slum-dwellers. Kumar, informally elected chief (pradhan) of the slum, said: ‘Over 1,100 voters live in the area.’ He adds, ‘In 1947, a group of workers who served at the Race Course Club, set up 15 - 20 tents in the area and eventually their families settled there. The slum was demolished in 1976 and about 150 families were relocated to Khicharipur, East Delhi. However, about 87 families were allowed to stay back to ensure labour supply in Race Course Club.’ The slum now houses over 500 shanties.
‘The people living here hail from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and around a dozen refugee families,’ he added. They live in dark and damp huts as small as 6x6 feet, which lack even basic toilet facilities. Even though the local civic body, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), runs a common toilet complex, there are no such amenities for children, who defecate in the open drains.
As per NDMC records, the area hides about six slums – situated at Masjid Polo Ground, DID near Riding Club, Chelmsford Club camp, Indira Camp at Pandara Road, Arjun Das Camp, and Rajiv Camp – all within 1.5 -2 km from PM’s residence. Out of these six, two – Rajiv Camp and Arjun Das Camp – are located within 1 km from Teen Murti Bhawan. Out of 31, 10 slums are thriving within a radius of 1.5 - 2 km from Parliament.
As per the voter list records, about 15,000 - 16,000 voters from Lutyens’ Delhi live in these slums, which are marked by severe stink. They receive only two-hour water supply in morning and two in the evening.