Underlining the great infrastructural leap the national Capital has witnessed during the past 15 years, newly appointed lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung has urged the Government to develop a mechanism to handle the influx of population from the rest of the country.
From sustained infrastructural growth to law and order in the city and from resettlement of slum dwellers to maintaining social harmony — the incumbent Vice Chancellor of the Jamia Millia Islamia University has it all in his agenda as he prepares to take over as the new administrator of Delhi.
In his first interaction with media persons after his appointment as Delhi’s lieutenant Governor, Jung elaborated upon a host of issues concerning the national Capital and its people — common men and the rich, Muslims and non-Muslims, Delhiites and non-Delhiites alike.
“Delhi scores over other Metro cities like Bangalore and Mumbai in terms of road, transport and other civic infrastructure. The Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games came as a shot in the arm, prompting huge expenditure on infrastructure. We, however, need to devise a strategy to handle the influx of population to Delhi. We cannot stop people from coming here and it is incumbent upon the Government to provide them with livelihood and security,” said Jung, who has a decade-old association with Delhi being a native of the place.
Resettlement of slum dwellers, too, concerned the new l-G who said he would like to see them resettled at the earliest. Referring to the flash floods in Uttarakhand that claimed thousands of lives, he said Delhi could not afford a disaster of such magnitude. “No Indian will like to relive the tragedy that people in the neighbouring hill State have gone through,” he said. Jung restrained from commenting on the issue of full Statehood to Delhi, even as he maintained that there would be ‘no conflict’ over gaining control of the police if both the State and the Centre are determined at strengthening law and order.
To him, sustainable growth of the city along with strengthening the law and order situation assumed the top priority even as he said he was yet to prepare a blueprint for the same. He, however, did not hesitate from admitting that even in the 1950s, Delhi was considered more vulnerable than Mumbai in terms of women safety. “Things have not changed much. There have been consistent concerns (regarding women safety). We cannot push them under the carpet. We need to tackle them effectively,” said the former bureaucrat who has earned great repute as a strict administrator. At the age of 62, Jung believes his stint as a police officer in the beginning of his career would come in handy and assured that his ‘gut instinct’ had not died over time.
An obvious change in the atmosphere at the Vice Chancellor’s office at Jamia Millia Islamia University was palpable since Tuesday morning. A posse of security men and vehicles with red beckon adorned his office premises as a host of dignitaries, including Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Delhi Chief Secretary DM Spolia and East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit, among others, paid visits to greet him at his office. Nevertheless, Jung assured to run an open office seeking participation of all citizens for overall development of Delhi.
Jung sought to refute the assumptions that his elevation from the head of a minority institution to the first Muslim lieutenant Governor of Delhi was aimed at gaining political mileage.
“The l-G is not a representative of Muslims. Expectations are there. No Government denies hand-holding of Muslims in India, but one has to think like an Indian. It's high time Muslims should themselves come up with situations and take the lead. The time of their acceleration has come. India is a great country that has given us livelihood and affection. It has equal space for all communities to prosper,” Jung said.