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New Delhi: The Indian capital will continue to be dotted by dingy, dirty shantytowns by the 2010 Commonwealth Games, as the government may be able to churn out only around 100,000 new houses for slum dwellers by then as against the required figure of 800,000.
"There are 860 slum clusters and each of them has 100 to 1,000 huts. The estimated population is 3.5-4 million and around 800,000 units may be required to accommodate them," Delhi's Urban Development Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said.
It would not be possible to provide residences to all slum dwellers by 2010, but around 100,000 huts around the various sites earmarked for the Games would certainly be taken care of, Chauhan said.
The government is trying to beautify the city by 2010 as the Games are expected to bring in thousands of foreign tourists. The slums present a grim picture, with people living there without basic facilities like water and sanitation.
Chauhan said under the various housing schemes of the government, 400,000 houses would be provided to slum dwellers in future. However, the required number is around 800,000.
He said the process to invite applications for the first 10,000 houses from slum dwellers would begin shortly. "The real picture will emerge only after we get applications for the 10,000 units."
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