5,100 houses demolished by DDA in three years, 3,000 households rehabilitated: Minister tells Rajya Sabha

Indian Express

4 days ago

A total of 5,185 houses were demolished in the Capital in the action taken by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in the last three years, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu told Rajya Sabha on Monday.
Of these, 3,043 households — and effectively 17,015 people — have been provided with alternative rehabilitation in the form of flats in Ashok Vihar, Kalkaji and Narela.
According to Sahu, who provided the details in response to a question, the DDA has spent Rs 766 crore (excluding land cost) in building housing for the rehabilitation of slum dwellers.
Considering an average household size of five, an estimated 25,000 people have been displaced due to such demolitions.
A total of 1,896 households from the Bhoomiheen Camp in Kalkaji were allotted flats in the In-situ Rehabilitation (ISR) project at Kalkaji Extension. From slum clusters in Jailorwala Bagh in Ashok Vihar, Golden Park, Rampura, and Mata Jai Kaur, 1,404 households have been rehabilitated to the Swabhiman Apartments in Ashok Vihar. From a JJ cluster at Kalibari near RML Hospital, 103 families have been rehabilitated in Narela.
The rehabilitation of slums in the city is governed by the Delhi Slum & Jhuggi Jhopri Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015, which was approved by the Cabinet in 2016. It prioritises in-situ rehabilitation to ensure alternative accommodation to a slum dweller on the same land or within a 5 km radius.
To be eligible for rehabilitation, however, the slum must have at least 50 households, must have existed before 2006, and the slum dweller must prove residence in the slum before 2015.
'The transition from jhuggi living to life in a modern flat, cohesive group living, sense of community ownership of common resources like common area, lift, etc. and adapting to the changes' were the main challenges faced by slum dwellers in the rehabilitation process, according to the reply.
There are 675 slum clusters in Delhi, according to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB). Of these, 376 occupy Central government land and come under the DDA's jurisdiction.
DUSIB is responsible for rehabilitating the remaining 299 JJ clusters located on Delhi government land.
Political parties estimate that roughly 50 lakh people, or close to a quarter of the total population, live in slums in the national capital.
Devansh Mittal is a trainee correspondent with The Indian Express. He studied political science at Ashoka University. He can be reached at [e-mail]. ... Read More