<div align="justify">
-The Hindu
</div>
<p align="justify">
&nbsp;
</p>
<p align="justify">
<em>Mumbai: </em>Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ajay Maken on Tuesday wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, asking him to stop demolition of the houses of slum dwellers, after a delegation of the National Alliance of People's Movements headed by Medha Patkar met him in New Delhi.
</p>
<p align="justify">
He asked Mr. Chavan to see that the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) was implemented with much more enthusiasm and in the spirit of achieving a slum-free State.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Ms. Patkar had informed the Minister that a list of 19 slum communities was finalised in May 2011 by the Maharashtra government for notification or declaring them slums. However, Mr. Maken noted, this process was not yet completed, resulting in basic amenities not being provided to lakhs of slum dwellers residing in these areas. This also resulted in no funds being invested in new development plans in these areas, depriving the poor of a decent shelter and basic infrastructure, he said.
</p>
<p align="justify">
In the absence of a notification, private builders and developers were allegedly taking advantage of the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme and grabbing land from slums by evicting the poor and using it for commercial purposes, Mr. Maken pointed out. &quot;You will agree that slum dwellers, who build and serve the cities like Mumbai, when evicted without an alternative, face immense injustice, harassment and deprivation of their basic right to shelter.&quot;
</p>
<p align="justify">
Mr. Maken said the Union government launched RAY in 2011 and Central assistance was being extended to States that were willing to assign property rights to slum dwellers and undertake reservation of land for economically weaker sections/low income groups, earmark 25 per cent of the municipal budget for basic services to the urban poor and bring in legislative amendments and policy changes to redress land and affordable housing shortage. Fifty per cent of the cost of providing basic civic and social infrastructure and amenities of housing including rental and transit for in situredevelopment of slums was to be borne by the Centre.
</p>