Chief Media Coordinator of Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress, Rajeev Mehrishi, has alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state for preparing to uproot the people living in settlements located on the banks of rivers and streams without relocation plan, saying that the state government is only concerned about the completion of the Lok Sabha elections.
In a statement issued today, Mehrishi said that ‘in the year 2016, the Congress government had decided to regularize many colonies, this proposal was passed in the Assembly but after the BJP government came to power the next year, that proposal was put on hold. The result of this is that the future of the people living in these settlements for years is at stake today. The government does not have any alternative plan whereas the people living in those settlements are citizens of this state.’
Questions BJP’s inaction in last 8 years
He said that ‘today in the name of NGT and High Court, preparations are being made to uproot the poor destitute people. He questioned why the government machinery remained asleep when these settlements were coming into existence.’ Mehrishi also asked that if the said settlements are illegal then on what basis did the Energy Corporation and the Water Corporation give electricity and water connections there? He said that the facilities of electricity, water and roads did not happen on their own, there is a BJP government in the state for the last eight years, so it is obvious that the BJP people created this vicious circle to harvest votes and now when it comes to taking responsibility. Preparations are being made to bring innocent people onto the streets.
Mehrishi said that since 2017, half a dozen elections have been held from Lok Sabha, Assembly to Municipal Corporation. He asked why the BJP, which has been singing the tune of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, has not resolved this issue in the last eight years? He said that Congress does not want to keep anyone in the dark and neither does it intend to contempt the NGT or the court, the only question is why the BJP government kept the people of illegal settlements in the dark for the last eight years?
Rajeev Mehrishi said that in the first phase, 27 illegal settlements have been identified by Dehradun Municipal Corporation from Kath Bungalow to Mothrowala on the banks of Rispana River. He asked that the government should tell what will happen to the future of these people? What will happen to their children and the biggest question is where will they go due to the scorching weather when the situation has worsened during the tenure of this government?
Chief Media Coordinator of Congress alleged that for the sake of votes, BJP workers gave opportunity to illegal settlements and now after the elections are over, a conspiracy is being hatched to destroy them. He said that this is a violation of the right to live of the affected people and the government should make arrangements for the rehabilitation of these settlements before destroying them, otherwise Congress will not shy away from fighting in favor of the affected people.