A year after being voted back to power for the third consecutive term, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit speaks to Aanchal Bansal about the challenges and accomplishments of her government

You have completed a year of your third term as the Chief Minister of Delhi. How has it been?
The first six months were spent preparing for the general elections. Till about May, we were working towards consolidating our hold in the city and though there were many immediate decisions to be taken, we had to hold back due to the code of conduct. But things are moving now and we are gearing up for the Games to be held next year, which is our priority for the time being, above all.

Low-cost housing was one of the promises made by your government in the run-up to the Assembly elections. Why hasn’t it taken off?
The low-cost housing plan is part of the five-year agenda chalked out by the government. The government has a scarcity of land resources, which is why we are relying on land-owning agencies like the DDA and the slum department of the MCD. We had land in Bawana and used it build flats, which will be allotted soon.

Do you think bringing the MCD slum department under the Delhi government will resolve the issue of multiplicity of authorities in administration in this matter?
Yes, definitely. We wanted the slum wing under us because the population of the city is increasing and we need land resources to build low-cost homes. But the Centre’s proposal of bringing the MCD under the government did not mention this. We were quite disappointed with the overall proposal, which did not give us any powers over the municipal agency, which is why I have written to the Centre and requested them to give us the authority. If we are taking the responsibility of the MCD, we might as well get some authority over it.

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