Sunil Kumar Aledia

Sunil Kumar Aledia has been working for the upliftment of the homeless people since 2000. He started his career as a volunteer working with non-governmental organistions, which aimed at providing basic facilities to destitutes in Delhi. After many years of selfless service to the most ignored section of the society, he started an NGO -- Centre for Holistic Development-CHD. Currently, he is the Executive Director of Centre for Holistic Development-CHD, and National Convenor of National Forum for Homeless Housing Rights-NFHHR.

Mr Aledia has been making policy makers aware of the issues of the homeless people (Behgar) via filing petitions in the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court. The PILs aim at providing the destitutes their rights as the citizens of Delhi. With the efforts of the Centre for Holistic Development, many homeless people got their voter ID cards and they exercised their right to vote in the Delhi Assembly as well as general elections. While the 2011 census revealed that there were 46,724 homeless people in the city, a 2010 survey financed by the UNDP found 55,955 destitutes.

As per the data collated by the Centre for Holistic Development, there are over 1.5 lakh homeless people fending for themselves on the streets of Delhi. The NGO argues that adequate housing and sustainable livelihood for the homeless should be included as a top priority in the overall urban development plans of the state governments. A state needs to stop criminalising the homeless and provide them a place where they can legally and safely go to sleep and meet their basic needs, says Mr Aledia. Mr Aledia is regarded by homeless population in Delhi as "bade bhai". He personally knows each one of them. The Centre for Holistic Development-CHD has also been involved in analysing government policies and preparing ground reports so as to better implement such and utilise their potential to the fullest. In 2015, the Centre for Holistic Development-CHD made sure that the "World Homeless Day" on 10th October 2015 was celebrated across India. The NGO contacted activists in different cities from almost every state from Delhi to Amabala, Patna, Mandi, Mumbai, Cochin etc, and asked them to carry out a 'Homeless March' to mark the World Homeless Day.