'I don't believe in compromises'

Vikram Bidhuri, the nephew of three-time Tughlaqabad MLA Ramesh Bidhuri, will contest from the constituency in south-east Delhi for the Bharatiya Janata Party. In an interview with Vishnu Sukumaran, Vikram says political experience under his uncle will help him retain the seat in the family. Excerpts:

Tughlaqabad is a mix of unauthorised and recently authorised colonies. How do you plan to handle them?

Under the Delhi Master Plan 2021, further regularisation of unauthorised colonies will be impossible. I believe there should be 50 per cent allocation for the poor in government housing projects.

If voted to power, we will implement in-situ rehabilitation of slums and JJ clusters. Hygiene must also be maintained in public places. I have been told that almost 50 per cent of Delhi’s population doesn’t have sewers.

We need to upgrade hospitals and make them more efficient. When it comes to quality of life, I don’t believe in compromises. We want to make a city of such high standards that people from other countries would praise our achievements.

AAP and Congress have promised cheap power to domestic consumers. Your party has not made any such announcement.

Power privatisation was a scam by Congress and there have been CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) reports highlighting corruption in the process. Being a party of the masses, we will reduce power tariffs.

We have found that the poor are more than willing to pay and most of them do pay. Far more power theft takes place in richer parts of Delhi. Over the next five years, we will prepare for generating solar power for meeting at least 10 per cent of Delhi’s electricity needs. A full-fledged campaign to promote alternative energy sources will be started.

Parts in south-east Delhi are infamous for water crisis and water tanker mafia. How will you tackle them?

Years of bad planning, corruption and inefficiency have reduced Delhi into becoming a water deficient state. The rich have taken more water than they need while the poor have barely enough for their basic needs.

This must end and everything begins with right education. Each family must be educated on how to save water. Rainwater harvesting and recycling must become so common that Delhi should stand out as an example of a city that solved its own water problem.

Once these issues are tackled, the water tanker mafia will automatically find it difficult to survive.

Plans for women’s safety?

Crime has increased in recent years largely because police focus more towards VIP security than public security. Our government will ensure that ordinary citizens are not ignored. Much can be done even within the restrictions of police being under the Centre.