In the heart of Patna, 1.5 lac slum dwellers have lived for decades and the state has displayed complete apathy and indifference to their plight. On one hand, the state has provided land to rich zamindars, bureaucrats, businessmen and professionals at dirt cheap rates through settlements of Khas Mahal Lands and by allotments via Bihar Housing board but has not allotted even 5% of these lands in the last 60 years to the homeless urban working class who mostly live in jhuggi jhopdis at the mercy of the Police, Municipal officials and goons.
Even the allotment of 300 Crores of Rupeees by way of Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Development Mission, meant for tackling problems of urban poor has failed to help Patna urban poor as the present State Government refused to give any 'parcha' of land to the Patna homeless - a condition precedent for utilisation of said Nehru Mission fund.
Nitish Kumar's government is not at all interested in alloying any public land for homes of these poor. Instead, the Nitish government is only interested in bringing up grandiose architectures like the World Museum, Grand Convention Center etc.
It may be noted that all the land acquired by Housing Board and Patna Regional Development Authority have been allotted to - rich people, bureaucrats, High Court Judges, Co-operative societies owned and controlled by rich builders.
In one big colony, owned by Patiliputra Co-op Society, plots measuring 20,000 sq ft each have been allotted to bureaucrats. This is not only in the heart of the town but is utterly against co-operative laws that do not permit allotment of more than 2000 sq ft to any family. To top that, hundreds of acres of land, acquired for the Housing Board in Digha area, Patna, have been illegally grabbed by top politicians, High Court Judges, top bureaucrats and rich people.
No wonder then that the Supreme Court and High Court failed to evict the illegal grabbers and occupiers of these lands. On the other hand, efforts are afoot to regularise these illegal colonies. But whwn the issue of slum dwellers comes up the same government expresses its inability to provide even 200 sq ft of space to these people.
Is this democracy or autocracy? Should not the aam aadmi react to this brazenness and complete denial of social justice.?
Where is equal protection of law and equality before law guaranteed in article 14 of the Indian Constitution.
Even the allotment of 300 Crores of Rupeees by way of Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Development Mission, meant for tackling problems of urban poor has failed to help Patna urban poor as the present State Government refused to give any 'parcha' of land to the Patna homeless - a condition precedent for utilisation of said Nehru Mission fund.
Nitish Kumar's government is not at all interested in alloying any public land for homes of these poor. Instead, the Nitish government is only interested in bringing up grandiose architectures like the World Museum, Grand Convention Center etc.
It may be noted that all the land acquired by Housing Board and Patna Regional Development Authority have been allotted to - rich people, bureaucrats, High Court Judges, Co-operative societies owned and controlled by rich builders.
In one big colony, owned by Patiliputra Co-op Society, plots measuring 20,000 sq ft each have been allotted to bureaucrats. This is not only in the heart of the town but is utterly against co-operative laws that do not permit allotment of more than 2000 sq ft to any family. To top that, hundreds of acres of land, acquired for the Housing Board in Digha area, Patna, have been illegally grabbed by top politicians, High Court Judges, top bureaucrats and rich people.
No wonder then that the Supreme Court and High Court failed to evict the illegal grabbers and occupiers of these lands. On the other hand, efforts are afoot to regularise these illegal colonies. But whwn the issue of slum dwellers comes up the same government expresses its inability to provide even 200 sq ft of space to these people.
Is this democracy or autocracy? Should not the aam aadmi react to this brazenness and complete denial of social justice.?
Where is equal protection of law and equality before law guaranteed in article 14 of the Indian Constitution.
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