Jaipur, A zonal consultation meet for urban poverty alleviation organized in Moti Doongari zone of eastern Jaipur has revealed an alarming situation of the residents of six slum colonies in the zone, living in dilapidated houses since 1981, being deprived of the title of land despite several assurances given by the state government. They have been compelled to live in slums without the basic civic amenities. The speakers at the consultation meet demanded that the poor people should be given the land rights at the earliest. They also expressed concern over the failure of the government officers failure to extend the benefits of welfare schemes to slum dwellers.
The consultation with the residents of six colonies was organized by a leading civil society group, Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), which has been taking up the issues of participatory governance. The slum dwellers pointed out that the relocation of some of them to Harmada area on the outskirts of Jaipur had not solved the problem, because the new colony does not even have sufficient quantity of drinking water. The PRIA Project Manager, Mr. Santosh Kumar Kaushal said making the Pink City slum-free was a serious matter that should be pursued at several levels in the government set-up. He suggested that a federation of residents, including women, should be formed for holding regular interaction with the government officers. The slum dwellers also pointed out that the recent Prashasan Shaharon Ke Sangcampaign had failed to make any positive impact in their areas and there was no attempt by the authorities to generate awareness about as many as 25 welfare schemes launched all over Rajasthan for the urban poor.