Delhi slums will be free of open defecation by March 31: Kejriwal

New Delhi:  Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said all Delhi slums and colonies will be made free of open defecation by March 31 next year.

"The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is a party of the poor. We got 67 of the 70 assembly seats because the poor voted for us. Our government has constructed 10,583 toilets in two years, which is a record," the Chief Minister said.

He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating 110 public toilets at Madrasi Basti at Lajpat Nagar in south Delhi.

"Defecation in the open is the main problem for slum dwellers, especially women. A total of 810 new public toilets have been constructed across the city," the AAP leader said.

The Chief Minister said his cabinet had earlier decided that shanties constructed before January 1, 2015, will not be razed until owners get alternate dwellings.

He said work on construction of 583 brick houses for slum dwellers in Sangam Vihar has started and would be completed in a few months.