Ten homeless people have lost their lives in the past month in the Indian capital, while some 100 people have reportedly died in northern India due to the freezing cold over the last few weeks.

Raquel Rolnik, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, has blamed the decreasing number of homeless shelters in Delhi for the rise in the death toll and has identified the Commonwealth Games as one of the main factors.

In a report published today, the Brazilian claims that the number of homeless people in India has grown since 2007, but the number of shelters for them has plummeted from 46 to 24, which she alleges is because of areas being cleared to get the city ready for the Games, which are due to open on October 3.

It is estimated that there are up to 150,000 people homeless in Delhi and room for 6,000 in shelters each night.

Rolnik said: "The lives of hundreds of homeless people in India are at risk as temperatures near zero degrees.

“I urge the Indian authorities to halt the demolition of homeless shelters, to provide immediate assistance and adequate shelter to the affected persons, and not to evict homeless persons in the winter, on humanitarian grounds.

"The Commonwealth Games seems to be one of the factors behind the closing down of a number of shelters."

Rolnik's (pictured) report coincides with one submitted by two Indian Supreme Court Commissioners.

On the basis of their report, an Apex Courtin Delhi  today ordered provision of night shelters to the homeless.

In their joint report, Court Commissioner N.C. Saxena and Special Commissioner Harsh Mander told the Supreme Court that the "Delhi Government has failed to take requisite steps to protect the people living on the streets from this extreme weather despite Delhi witnessing this year some of the coldest temperatures in the last decade."

The report said: "It is imperative that the Delhi Government responds to the situation immediately by setting up more shelters and protecting homeless people from the cold.

"It must be realised that malnutrition and hunger are the underlying causes making people susceptible to extreme weather conditions.

"There is ample scientific evidence that shows that due to increase in basal metabolism rate (BMR), with the fall in temperature, higher calories are required by the body to maintain body temperature."

Delhi is suffering one of its worst spells of cold weather for many years.

Temperatures have dropped to 6.5 degree Celsius, which meteorologists blame on icy winds blowing from snow-capped mountains in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh 

Mander said: "It is unfortunate and unforgivable that the Supreme Court had to remind the Government about it.

"Don’t they see the homeless in the city?

"They should have acted upon it by themselves."

Asked about Delhi’s plan to become a world class city ahead of the Commonwealth Games, he said: "A world-class city is not just related to infrastructure.

"A world-class city is one which is just and compassionate to its poor."

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