 bill  no  ii of  2008 the dwellers of slums and jhuggi clusters (welfare and basic amenities) bill, 2008 a billto provide for the welfare measures to be undertaken by the state and for the basic amenities like sanitation, potable water, electricity, healthcare, toilets and garbage management etc to the poverty stricken dwellers of slums and jhuggi clusters to be provided by the appropriate government and for matters connected therewith and incidental theretobe it enacted by parliament in the fifty-ninth year of the republic of india as follows:—basic amenities) act, 2008short title, extent and commencement(2) it extends to the whole of india (3) it shall come into force with immediate effectdefinitions2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—(a) "appropriate government" means in the case of a state, the government of that state and in all other cases, the central government;5(b) "jhuggi clusters" means an area consisting of jhuggies which are generally built with mud, metal or wood having thatched roof or tin shed or polythene covering roof thereof;(c) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act; (d) "slum" includes an area consisting of unplanned and badly built, overcrowded houses with unhygienic atmosphere and without civic amenities and such other areas declared as slums by the appropriate government10national policy for slums and jhuggi clusters3 (1) the central govenment shall, as soon as may be, formulate a national policy for betterment, upkeep, removal and rehabilitation for the slums and jhuggi clusters and also for the welfare measures for the poor people who have to live therein particularly in the metropolitan and other cities15(2) without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (1) the welfare and betterment measures referred to therein may provide for,—(a) basic civic amenities like potable water supply, electricity for dwelling units and road lights, sewerage, toilets with flush or sulabh types both individual as well as community toilets, drainage, road facility in the streets and surroundings, sanitation, garbage clearance and dumping bins and such other amenities as may be prescribed;20(b) healthcare facilities for the inhabitants; (c) educational facilities for the children; (d) adequate public distribution  system facilities; (e) transport facilities; and25(f) such other provisions as the central government may deem necessary for carrying out the purposes of this act (3) the national policy so formulated under this section shall be uniformly implemented throughout the country by the appropriate government304 notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force the appropriate government with a view to implementing welfare measures for the dwellers of slums and jhuggi cluster under this act shall,—miscellaneous provisions in respect of slums and jhuggi clusters(a) take humane approach by recognizing the right to use government land in case jhuggis have been built thereon till alternative living arrangements are made by such government for the dwellers;35(b) construct such number of appropriate dwelling units with attached kitchen, bathroom, toilets, etc and allot them to the dwellers with such terms and conditions and in such manner as may be prescribed;40(c) the dwelling units so constructed shall be provided with all civic amenities like potable water, sewerage system, electricity, toilets, drainage, road passage, sanitation, park, healthcare and such other amenities to the residents of such dwelling units;(d) not remove or demolish any slum or jhuggi cluster which is in existence for more than a year without making alternative arrangement of dwelling units for the residents of such slums or jhuggi cluster, as the case may be;45(e) provide necessary healthcare through mobile units and distribute free of costs mosquito nets and repellants and fumigate the clusters from time to time to save the residents from vector borne diseases like malaria, dengue,  encephalitis etc(f) render necessary help in cash and kind and advice for the self employment of the dwellers of slums and jhuggi clusters in such manner as may be prescribed;(g) make such other provisions as the appropriate government may deemnecessary or expedient for carrying out the purposes of this act55 the central government shall, after due appropriation made by parliament by lawin this behalf, provide requisite funds from time to time for carrying out the provisions of this actcentral government to provide requisite fundsact to have ovrerriding effect106 the provisions of this act and of rules made thereunder shall have effectnotwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force but save as aforesaid the provisions of this act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any other law for the time being in force regulating any of the matter dealt with in this act15power to remove difficulties and issue directions7 if any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this act, the central government may make such order or give such direction, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, as appears to it to be necessary or expedient for the removal of the difficulty and the government of a state shall be guided by such directions and instructions on questions of policy as may be given to it by the central governmentpower to make rules8 the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this act statement  of  objects  and  reasonsmillions of people in our vast country particularly in the metropolitans and other urban areas languish in slums and jhuggi clusters in most inhuman conditions without civic amenities like water, sanitation, electricity, toilets, sewerage, healthcare and so on so forth these slums and jhuggi clusters can be seen in all parts of the urban areas and even the national capital is not an exception in this regard unfortunately, the number of slums and jhuggi clusters is increasing manifold because of exodus from rural areas to urban areas in search of employment and livelihood and these poor people have no option but to find shelter in slums or jhuggi clusters or even on pavements under the sky and live in stinking and inhuman conditions inviting and falling victims to various fatal diseases but unfortunately, we do not have national policy on slums and jhuggi clusters which can be implemented uniformally throughout the countryours is a welfare state and it is the duty of the central and state governments to initiate welfare measures for the inhabitants of the slums and jhuggi clusters because they too are the citizens of this great nation and the slums and jhuggi clusters too  should be provided the basic civic amenities like potable water, sewerage system, electricity, toilets, dainage, roads and clean streets, sanitation facilities, healthcare facilities, educational facilities, park, etc so that the inhabitants lead a healthy and good life in such areas since the states can not bear the expenditure, the central government should provide requisite funds to improve the situation in the slums and jhuggi clustershence this billa vijayaraghavan financial  memorandumclause 4 of the bill provides for various facilities including housing facility to the slum and jhuggi cluster dwellers clause 5 makes it obligatory for the central government to provide requisite funds for carrying out the purposes of this bill the bill, if enacted will involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that a sum of rupees fifteen thousand crore may involve as recurring expenditure per annuma sum of rupees ten thousand crore may also involve as non-recurring expenditure memorandum  regarding  delegated  legislationclause 8 of the bill empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill the rules will relate to matters of details onlythe delegation of legislative power is of normal character———— a billto provide for the welfare measures to be undertaken by the state and for the basic amenitieslike sanitation, potable water, electricity, healthcare, toilets and garbage management etc to the poverty stricken dwellers of slums and jhuggi clusters to be provided by the appropriate government and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto————(shri a vijayaraghavan, mp)gmgipmrnd—4743rs(s-5)—29-12-2008