<p>Emphasising the need to provide shelter to the homeless, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to convene a meeting of all state chief secretaries in 10 days to ascertain the steps they have taken to address the issue.<br /><br /></p>.<p>A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice H L Dattu also asked the Urban Development Ministry to find out ways of providing necessary temporary shelter to all homeless people in the whole of the country.<br /><br />“It is desirable that a responsible person of the Urban Development Ministry will call a meeting of chief secretaries of all the states to find out what steps they have taken in implementing the scheme of urban homeless people,” the bench, also comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and A K Sikri, said, adding that the report on action should be filed in three weeks. <br /><br />The bench was hearing a PIL filed by advocate E R Kumar asking it to direct the governments to build shelter homes, as several homeless people die in cold weather.<br />During the brief hearing, the bench said that it will not hear the matter relating to homeless persons in the national capital as the Delhi High Court was already seized of it and has been monitoring the development in the case.<br /><br />Perusing the affidavit filed by some of the states, the bench said, “We can make out nothing from the affidavit. It's not clear as to what they have done."<br /><br />The counsel for Delhi, however, said that 231 night shelters have been set up in the national capital and out of them, 84 are permanent and they can provide shelters to 17,000 homeless people here.<br /><br />Staggering number<br />Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the parties, said that as per the census of the Delhi government, there are 39,000 homeless people in the city alone and the government claims that it can provide shelters to 17,000 persons only. <br /><br />Earlier, the court had asked the state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh to build sufficient shelter homes ahead of the winter season, saying they will have to face consequences on failing to do so.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Emphasising the need to provide shelter to the homeless, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to convene a meeting of all state chief secretaries in 10 days to ascertain the steps they have taken to address the issue.<br /><br /></p>.<p>A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice H L Dattu also asked the Urban Development Ministry to find out ways of providing necessary temporary shelter to all homeless people in the whole of the country.<br /><br />“It is desirable that a responsible person of the Urban Development Ministry will call a meeting of chief secretaries of all the states to find out what steps they have taken in implementing the scheme of urban homeless people,” the bench, also comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and A K Sikri, said, adding that the report on action should be filed in three weeks. <br /><br />The bench was hearing a PIL filed by advocate E R Kumar asking it to direct the governments to build shelter homes, as several homeless people die in cold weather.<br />During the brief hearing, the bench said that it will not hear the matter relating to homeless persons in the national capital as the Delhi High Court was already seized of it and has been monitoring the development in the case.<br /><br />Perusing the affidavit filed by some of the states, the bench said, “We can make out nothing from the affidavit. It's not clear as to what they have done."<br /><br />The counsel for Delhi, however, said that 231 night shelters have been set up in the national capital and out of them, 84 are permanent and they can provide shelters to 17,000 homeless people here.<br /><br />Staggering number<br />Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the parties, said that as per the census of the Delhi government, there are 39,000 homeless people in the city alone and the government claims that it can provide shelters to 17,000 persons only. <br /><br />Earlier, the court had asked the state governments of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh to build sufficient shelter homes ahead of the winter season, saying they will have to face consequences on failing to do so.<br /><br /></p>
