By TCN News,
New Delhi: Former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Justice Rajinder Singh Sachar, released a report on “Access to Urban Basic Services in the Muslim Localities of Delhi (A Research Study)” on January 28 at a function organized by the Institute of Objective Studies at the Nehru Guest House of Jamia Millia Islamia.
Delivering his address, Justice Sachar took on the Narednra Modi government for omitting the words “secular” and “socialist” enshrined in the Preamble to the Constitution in an advertisement released by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, in the newspapers on January 26, the Republic Day, describing it as mischievous.
Introducing the Report, president of the Civil Society Network, Dr. Onkar Mittal, explained that the research focused on 7 wards of Delhi which had 60 percent Muslim population. He said that the density of population in these areas was 30,000 per square KM adding that no money was spent on these localities during the last 5 years.
While other areas adjoining the Muslim localities had access to all basic civic facilities the latter were at a disadvantage with no such facilities, prompting one to conclude that the Muslims were discriminated against. Blaming lack of political will to address the issue, he complained that the recognised colonies too were faced with the problem of blocked sewers. Dr. Tarique Ashraf of Civil Society Network and the main researcher of the project held that the report was an eye-opener for lack of basic amenities like water, sewerage, etc.
While highlighting the work of the IOS, its Chairman Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, informed that similar studies had been undertaken on the Muslims in Uttarakhand and the weavers of Varanasi. He observed that so far the reports had indicated the backwardness of Muslims in every field of activity. He regretted that in several matters, the Supreme Court had taken suo motto notice, but he had not come across any such matter pertaining to Muslims in which the court took suo motto notice.
The IOS report on access to urban basic services in the Muslim localities of Delhi contains the findings of research undertaken by Civil Society Network, an NGO that claims that discrimination is being made against citizens on ground of religion. The report says “as these are basic ingredients of living conditions, it is also an inalienable right of citizens, it expects and demands from government to provide these basic facilities”.
The capital city of Delhi is glittering with swanky shopping malls and multiplexes, metro rail and dotted with over bridges and underpasses in the wake of Common Wealth Games. The report further says the basic urban services of decent public transport, dispensaries, schools, parks, petrol pumps, gas agencies, banks apart, even the basic urban services like supply of potable water, minimum housing, garbage collection by municipal employees, regular cleaning of closed/open drains has not been made available in these localities, leading to filth, stink and disease. The situation is even worse in areas which are “exclusive Muslim pockets.”
The report says, “In this context it would be pertinent to explore the pattern of allocation and actual expenditure by various government agencies like Municipal Corporation, Delhi Government, Public Works Department and Central government in the habitations having predominantly Muslim population. In order to understand the genesis of problem at policy and governance level, it was proposed, to undertake a survey of access to urban basic services in selected Muslim localities in the city. At the same time it was decided to seek information through RTI Act and other sources, the pattern of government expenditure in these areas”