• News
  • Delhi assembly elections 2015: Rich man’s alley, Delhi’s underbelly
This story is from January 31, 2015

Delhi assembly elections 2015: Rich man’s alley, Delhi’s underbelly

Though Chhatarpur is often identified with sprawling farmhouses, the eponymous assembly constituency is, in fact, a home to a number of villages that have been neglected by successive governments.
Delhi assembly elections 2015: Rich man’s alley, Delhi’s underbelly
NEW DELHI: Though Chhatarpur is often identified with sprawling farmhouses, the eponymous assembly constituency is, in fact, a home to a number of villages that have been neglected by successive governments.
Only a few minutes’ drive from the upscale south Delhi, villages such as Bhati, Mandi, Dera, Neb Sarai and Chandan Hula are in need of better healthcare facilities, schools and colleges.

The Congress-led government in July 2012 had announced the setting up of a world-class skill development centre in collaboration with the Singapore government at Jonapur village, which is yet to see the light of the day.
During a visit to the area, TOI found school students playing cricket on one part of the plot allotted for this project while the other half remains covered with shrubs and bushes. Locals say this vacant plot has become a haven for anti-social elements.
Unfulfilled promises and lack of avenues for higher education in the area have turned out to be a major poll plank for political parties. Congress, which was in power when the project was announced, says it has been delayed by successive governments. “Our government procured land and sanctioned funds for construction of the skill development centre, but Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and BJP failed to carry forward the same,” said Balram Tanwar, the Congress candidate from Chhatarpur.

He represented the seat from 2008 to 2013 but lost to BJP’s Brahm Singh Tanwar in the last election.
“AAP formed the government but it failed to undertake any important project. Their idea of governance was plain populism. People have realized this and I am confident of BJP’s victory in this election. We will not only operationalize this skill centre, but also open many more as envisaged by our PM Narendra Modi,” Brahm Singh said.
Besides Balram and Brahm Singh, there is another Tanwar (a sub-caste of Gujjar), who is in the fray—Kartar Singh Tanwar from Aam Aadmi Party.
A sitting councilor from Bhati village, the AAP candidate is banking on the support from 50,000 migrant workers living in the unauthorized colonies of the constituency.
AAP has already declared it will construct colleges on village land, apart from promising uninterrupted power supply and potable water.
“All parties make promises. We will vote for the person who is likely to act on these promises,” said one of the locals.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA