Night Shelters

In a city like Delhi, where winters can be very severe, it is tough for those without a home. It is really difficult to live on streets in such cold atmosphere. It is estimated that the number of people who die in winter is more than the number of people dying of any other causes. That is the severity of winter. That is why, the Delhi GNCT has come up with detailed schemes to provide night shelters to homeless where they can spend cold nights in a comfortable and warm atmosphere. As these night shelters are of utmost importance, their functioning is monitored by both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India. The DUSIB or the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board has come up with many such night shelters, both permanent and temporary and will also provide emergency rescue service in case anyone needs help during such harsh winters.

Permanent Night Shelter

As of today, there are 64 permanent night shelters run by DUSIB. Annexure A has the complete list. To ensure that these 64 permanent night shelters are occupied to its optimum, there are some decisions that the Board has undertaken. They are:

1. These permanent night shelters will be managed by NGOs and if and only the occupancy of these shelters is more than 80%, there will be provisions for temporary shelters near these shelters.

Temporary Night Shelter

GNCTD had set up 84 temporary night shelters last year of which 15 are still functional. In 2011-12, DUSIB has set up around 50 shelters at different places of which 30 are functioning well. The list can be available at Annexure – B. All these shelters were entrusted to NGOs to ensure a better management and proper handling. The NGOs are expected to incur the expenses of care takers, cleanliness staff and even supervisors for these night shelters. They should not charge the users for using the shelters.

Though the managing of the shelters is entrusted to NGOs, DUSIB does take quite a bit of precautions and caretaking of these shelters. First, these shelters are tested to be fire resistant and water proof. The Board also ensures that these shelters are strong enough and does not wither away during winter. As a part of their CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility, through which companies take up projects to be of help society, DSIIDC has sponsored the building of five temporary shelters worth Rs. 15 lakhs. The Board is also into talks with Power Finance Corporation Ltd. for sponsoring the setting up of at least 15 temporary night shelters.