A Dignified Life

The path adopted by the Indore Municipal Corporation to earn the title of the ‘cleanest city of the country’ was inhuman to say the least. Instead of making the city eligible for such a title by providing basic amenities to the citizens, the civic body indulged in a condemnable act. It loaded all homeless persons loitering in the city, including frail and elderly persons, in trucks to be dumped in locations lying outside the jurisdiction of the municipal corporation by taking advantage of the dark winter nights. Thanks to the people residing in nearby villages the employees of the civic body were caught red handed and their plans were thus thwarted. As usual, after the incident came to light the Madhya Pradesh Government has ordered an enquiry and promised to punish the guilty. At the same time, the topmost government official in Indore also expressed regret and requested to be forgiven. But all these surface actions are not enough to lessen the burden of the sin committed by the civic body. In future, every Indian will have to bow down their heads in shame whenever any references of the Indore incident is made in any part of the world.

In a bigger canvas, the Indore incident highlights the pitiable neglect of the homeless people in India. Beyond a doubt, it proves that we are much behind in achieving the target of providing shelter to everyone by 2022, the 75th year of India’s Independence. It may be mentioned here that it was not the first time that the plight of the homeless people in the country came to light in recent times. During the lockdown period too, their plights were evident as they had no roof over their heads and the administration was in no mood to allow them on the roads. At the same time, the homeless were denied relief as they do not have the necessary documents to avail such benefits. All these are indicative of the fact that we are still far away from achieving the goal of being a welfare state as envisaged by the founders of the nation.

Under these circumstances, it is time now to audit the funds allocated to the National Urban Livelihood Missions to provide homes and shelters to the homeless. It is abundantly clear that the funds meant to build homes for the homeless, have grossly been misused. Prima-facie it appears that the state governments have failed to properly utilise the funds meant for this purpose. In such a scenario, stern actions should be taken against the state governments concerned. Moreover, utter neglect of the homeless people in our country is a violation of human rights. No state can deny food and shelter to its poor and homeless population, forget about dumping them to a secluded place. They have every right to be treated at par with affluent sections of society. Apart from food and shelter, they are also entitled to health and education facilities. Thus, without further delay, the nation should ensure a dignified living for the poor and homeless people in-order to remove the ‘Indore-scar.’