Latest news with #DelhiSlum&JhuggiJhopriRehabilitationandRelocationPolicy
Indian Express
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
5,100 houses demolished by DDA in three years, 3,000 households rehabilitated: Minister tells Rajya Sabha
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 ... Read More
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Why Delhi's PPP model for slum rehabilitation has not attracted developers
A Joint Government-Industry Task Force, constituted by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, recently submitted a report titled 'How to Revitalise Delhi' to the state government, recommending ways to unlock 'the latent real estate potential of Delhi.' Among its key recommendations was that slum rehabilitation projects in the national capital be undertaken on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis. If accepted, the Delhi government will also begin rehabilitating slums on its land on a PPP basis. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had adopted such a policy back in 2007, but has since failed to attract private developers to participate in slum rehabilitation. How many slums are in Delhi, and who is responsible for rehabilitating them? There are 675 slums in Delhi, according to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB). Of these, 376 fall on central government land and thus, under the DDA's jurisdiction. DUSIB is responsible for the remaining 299 located on Delhi government lands. According to DUSIB, roughly 30 lakh people reside in Delhi's slums, while both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) put the number of slum dwellers in the national capital at around 50 lakh. 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 state cabinet in 2016. It prioritises in-situ rehabilitation to ensure alternate 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 process of rehabilitating slum dwellers in Delhi has been painfully slow. A decade after introducing the policy, only two in-situ slum rehabilitation projects have been completed where slum dwellers have been allotted flats and have begun living in them. The Kalkaji Apartment Complex and the Swabhiman Apartment in Ashok Vihar have a combined capacity of 4,699 units. Of these, 3,301 flats have been allotted to slum dwellers from Bhoomiheen Camp, Jailer Wala Bagh slum, Golden Park Rampura slum, and a cluster opposite Mata Jai Kaur Public School. The Delhi government, through DUSIB and Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructural Development Corporation (DSIIDC), is constructing 52,584 flats on the city's outskirts in Dwarka, Sultanpuri, Bhalswa-Jahangirpuri, Savda Ghevra, Pooth Khurd and Tikri Kalan for slum rehabilitation. Of the 24,524 flats completed, only 4,833 have been allotted to the public, and only 2,153 of these to slum dwellers, according to DUSIB's Annual Report 2020-21. These flats have very low occupancy rates given their location in remote peripheral areas and their dilapidated state. In all the above-mentioned projects, the government has funded the construction of Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Low-Income Group (LIG) housing for slum dwellers. Under a PPP model, however, the government does not construct houses itself. In such projects, the government transfers the land on which the slum is located to a private developer. In return, the developer builds housing for the slum dwellers on part of the land, while using the remainder to construct housing and commercial buildings. The underlying rationale is that the developer recovers the cost of building units for slum dwellers by making profits from the 'free sale' component. The model was expected to work well since slums are typically located on high-value land in central city areas. However, since the policy's inception, only one project has been undertaken in PPP mode in Delhi, and it remains incomplete. The troubled Kathputli Colony project, being developed by Raheja Developers, was conceived in 2009, had its foundation stone laid in 2018, and is still not ready for occupation by slum dwellers. The DDA has repeatedly tried to attract private developers to participate in its policy, but has failed to do so. In 2022, it floated Request for Proposals (RFP) for six projects covering approximately 10,300 households across 10 JJ Cluster sites, while RFPs for four additional projects covering 15,000 households across eight JJ Cluster sites were being processed to invite private developers for 'in-situ rehabilitation' under the PPP model, according to a reply by then Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in Lok Sabha. DDA officials confirmed that these proposals had to be discarded due to developers' lukewarm response and that no slum rehabilitation projects are currently underway in Delhi under the PPP mode, except for Kathputli Colony in Shadipur. The origins of this policy lie in the Master Plan for Delhi 2021, which was notified in 2007. It mentions 'in-situ slum rehabilitation' as a focal point of the plan to ensure housing for the poor, 'including using land as a resource for private sector participation.' In 2015, the Government of India launched its flagship housing policy, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U), aiming to ensure housing for all by 2022. The DDA's rehabilitation policy is based on this scheme. One of PMAY-U's verticals was 'In situ' Slum Redevelopment, under which slum rehabilitation was to be carried out 'using land as a resource with private participation for providing houses to eligible slum dwellers…This approach aims to leverage the locked potential of land under slums to provide houses to the eligible slum dwellers bringing them into the formal urban settlement.' Why are more slums not being rehabilitated by private developers? Experts have suggested that the lack of interest in Delhi's slum rehabilitation by developers stems partly from their greater enthusiasm for investing in other National Capital Region cities, like Gurgaon and Noida. 'This policy in which a developer builds slum housing in Delhi is a non-starter because the market does not want to play here,' said Gautam Bhan, an urban researcher. 'It is much easier and more profitable for private developers to invest and build in Noida, Gurgaon and other NCR cities. They have never wanted to engage in slum rehabilitation in Delhi,' he adds. Others have questioned the commercial viability of the policy. 'It is not commercially viable for developers to engage in slum rehabilitation in Delhi,' said PSN Rao, Professor of Housing at the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), New Delhi. He recommends that the government build housing for slum dwellers using its own funds, as it has done for the two completed projects. The task force report has also identified funding and financial viability as challenges: 'Limited public funding and hesitant private investors, due to perceived risks and low returns associated with slum redevelopment, create financial constraints.' In November last year, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena approved changes to the policy to make the framework more developer-friendly and incentivise participation. These changes essentially increase the construction area developers can earmark for market sale. The proposed changes are currently with the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and can only be implemented with its approval. These include raising the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for both rehabilitation and remunerative components to 500, up from the previous FAR of 400 for rehabilitation and 300 for the remunerative component. FAR is used in urban planning to regulate density and control development. A higher FAR allows more floors or larger buildings to be constructed, making projects more attractive to builders; conversely, a lower FAR restricts construction to maintain open spaces and reduce pressure on resources like groundwater and roads. Another proposed change allows developers to use any unutilised FAR from the rehabilitation component in the remunerative/commercial plot area. Additionally, the land allocation for rehabilitation has been adjusted, reducing the minimum requirement for rehabilitation from 60% to 40% of land. Experts have also noted that the policy requires slum dwellers and flat purchasers to live in close proximity, which could make the sale of the flats difficult. The task force also advocates for separating the rehabilitative and remunerative components: 'The temporal linearity of the project essentially entails heavy initial investment by the concessionaire in financing the rehabilitation component, first, which can be recouped only at a subsequent stage when the concessionaire is permitted to commence the commercial component of the project. This has become a major impediment to the in situ slum rehabilitation under the PPP model,' according to the task force meeting minutes. One of the changes approved in the policy by the LG attempts to address both these issues by allowing the clubbing of plots across a 5 km area. Harshvardhan Bansal, co-founder of Unity Group and President of National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO)-Delhi Chapter, said, 'We have also proposed that the government should undertake rehabilitation in pairs or bunches.' Under this approach, a developer could redevelop one site exclusively for slum dweller rehabilitation, while utilising another site exclusively for commercial purposes. This separation of rehabilitation and remuneration sites, with their simultaneous development, aims to resolve these challenges. Since slum dwellers face a risk of eviction without getting rehabilitation, they often resist vacating the land. 'Providing unencumbered land to developers is also a challenge as many slum dwellers, especially those who are ineligible to get rehabilitated, resist vacating the land,' a DDA official said. 'Residents of slums are often reluctant to move due to fear of losing their homes and livelihoods. The disruption caused by relocation can lead to resistance from the community, complicating redevelopment efforts,' the task force report identified as one challenge. Has such a policy worked anywhere else? Delhi is not the only city which has made very slow progress on rehabilitating slum dwellers. The In-situ Slum Rehabilitation (ISSR) is the worst-performing vertical of PMAY-Urban, accounting for less than 2% of PMAY-U's sanctioned houses, according to research by Debarpita Roy and Rashmi Kundu from Centre for Social Economic Progress (CSEP). Most ISSR projects were in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and Gujarat's four Million-Plus cities, where slum redevelopment has been underway even before PMAY-U. States like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh attempted ISSR but had to cancel projects. According to Roy and Kundu's research, 31% of the projects had to be cancelled, while 70% of the remaining remain incomplete. The PMAY-U 2.0, launched last year removed ISSR as a vertical altogether. According to Roy and Kundu, issues like 'multiple ownership of the underlying land, legal disputes, changing political agendas, lack of consensus amongst slum households supporting slum development,' are some of the reasons behind the slow uptake of ISSR across the country. Devansh Mittal is a trainee correspondent with The Indian Express. He studied political science at Ashoka University. He can be reached at ... Read More
Indian Express
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Ten years, just two projects: Where does Delhi's slum rehabilitation policy stand?
In 2015, Delhi introduced a rehabilitation policy that prioritised in-situ housing for slum dwellers, with relocation permitted only in 'exceptional circumstances.' However, a recent surge in demolitions has run contrary to the policy's intent, with many residents being shifted to far-flung locations. Major demolitions that have taken place after the BJP came to power are in Madrasi Camp (340 structures demolished), Bhoomiheen Camp (344 structures demolished), Jailerwala Bagh Camp (300 structures demolished) and Taimoor Nagar (100 structures demolished). Eligible residents of Madrasi Camp have been offered housing in Narela, 50-odd km away. According to a list compiled by Basti Suraksha Manch, an organisation advocating for housing rights of slum dwellers in Delhi, many more demolitions have been taking place at an accelerated pace in recent months. 'Since coming to power, the BJP government demolished around 30-40 slums. Currently, there are 5-10 settlements under threat of demolition. The government had given a slogan of 'Jahaan Jhuggi Wahin Makaan', but, instead, the poor are being removed from their homes,' said Neelesh Kumar, a social activist and member of the group. The Indian Express examines the current status of the policy and speaks to experts who propose alternative models for more effective and inclusive housing. The rehabilitation of slums 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 — alternate accommodation has to be provided to a slum dweller on the same land or within a radius of 5 km. But under exceptional circumstances, in-situ rehabilitation need not be undertaken and relocation is considered. Such circumstances include a court order; if the slum encroaches on a street, road, footpath, railway safety zone, or a park; and if the encroached land is required by the land-owning agency for a public project that is urgent. Not all slums or slum residents qualify for this support. Eligibility requires that the slum must have existed before January 1, 2006, and the specific dwelling unit must have been present before January 1, 2015. Additionally, the occupant must have received a voter ID between 2012 and 2015 (before January 1), be listed in the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) survey, and possess at least one of 12 accepted ID documents, such as a ration card or electricity bill. The applicant must also not own a house in Delhi. Any slum that came up after January 1, 2015, is excluded from the scope of this policy. A slum dweller has to pay a sum ranging between Rs 1.12 lakh to Rs 1.41 lakh to get a house having an area of 25 sq m, as well as Rs 30,000 as maintenance cost for five years. The policy of in-situ rehabilitation has progressed at an excruciatingly slow pace. In the decade since the policy has come into existence, only two in-situ slum rehabilitation projects have been completed where slum dwellers have been allotted flats and have started living in them. One is in Kalkaji, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2022. The Economically Weaker Section (EWS) apartment complex has 3,024 flats out of which 1,896 households of Bhoomiheen Camp have been allotted units already. The second project, in Northwest Delhi's Ashok Vihar, named Swabhiman Apartments, was also inaugurated by Modi in January. The complex has 1,675 flats, out of which 1,405 flats have been allotted to slum dwellers of three nearby slums: Jailer Wala Bagh, Golden Park Rampura, and a cluster opposite Mata Jai Kaur Public School. Another project to house residents of Kathputli Colony, which was conceived way back in 2008 and is being built by Raheja Developers, has not yet been completed. It has a capacity of 2,800 flats. According to DDA officials, its next in-situ slum rehabilitation projects are planned in Shalimar Bagh and Dilshad Garden, as well as newer phases of the Kalkaji project. The Delhi government, through DUSIB and Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructural Development Corporation, is constructing 52,584 flats on the city's outskirts in Dwarka, Sultanpuri, Bhalswa-Jahangirpuri, Savda Ghevra, Pooth Khurd and Tikri Kalan for rehabilitating slum dwellers. While construction of 24,524 flats has been completed, construction of 28,060 flats is underway, according to Delhi's Economic Survey 2023-24. Of these, 4,833 flats have been allotted — only 2,153 to slum dwellers, according to DUSIB's Annual Report 2020-21. A lot of these flats are in a dilapidated state and lie in deserted areas. The Economic Survey also notes that 'the issues and problems for low occupancy are very low eligibility rate qualifying for getting the dwelling unit, non-availability of required peripheral infrastructure facilities, apprehension of allottees of losing livelihood after shifting, etc.' The DDA refused to respond to multiple queries sent by The Indian Express about future projects and demolition. Gautam Bhan, an urban researcher, said the heart of the problem is the lack of legal low-income housing. 'In Delhi, you can only get housing which is legal, but will not be affordable, or you will get housing which is affordable, but not legal,' he said. According to the Delhi Master Plan 2021, a quarter of the houses supplied over the next two decades should be Economically Weaker Section (EWS) or Low Income Group (LIG) units for slums and jhuggi-jhopdi (JJ) dwellers through in-situ rehabilitation. Past records, however, pointed to a different outcome. A Centre for Policy Research project, 'Cities of Delhi' — directed by Partha Mukophayay and Patrick Heller — found that of the 33,052 houses completed between 2004 and 2013 by DDA, fewer than 10% were designated for the EWS category. Bhan proposed that a variety of models should be worked out for different slums, depending on their size and location. 'You cannot build your way out of this situation,' he said. Therefore, until there are enough houses, the government should at least not demolish houses that people have built for themselves. 'The second model is that the state should give people some kind of tenure rights to slum dwellers. This can be a lease for 30 years. Once people have an assurance that their houses will not be demolished, they will invest and upgrade their housing. The government doesn't necessarily need to provide houses in these areas, but it should provide the basic provisions of roads, electricity and water,' Bhan said. One of the key alternatives to costly and disruptive slum rehabilitation projects is retrofitting — a method where existing slum structures are upgraded with basic infrastructure such as water lines, toilets, sewage disposal, and street lighting without displacing residents. A related approach, reblocking, involves rearranging homes within a slum to create more regular layouts that facilitate access roads and public services. A 2018 policy report prepared by Swetha Balachandran and others for DUSIB underscores the value of these approaches, stating: 'Retrofit and reblocking upgrades build on and extend private infrastructure investments that JJ residents have already made into their homes… They are cheaper than rebuilding or near-site relocations and allow residents to implement upgrades themselves, which fosters ownership and long-term maintenance.' DUSIB has already provided 20,956 toilet seats, 630 community toilets and 525 community halls in its slums, according to DUSIB's 2022-23 Housing Plan. Lastly, the government has to make land available for affordable housing. 'Open up land through affordable housing zones (AHZs) so you can create a low-income housing market,' Bhan said. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) 2.0 mandates the 'inclusion of AHZs in the Master Plans/Town Planning Schemes,' which Bhan points out has not been done in Delhi yet. 'The best way to go about this is to declare some of the already existing slums as AHZs, along with finding new parcels of land,' he said. DUSIB's website states that 30 lakh people, equal to 15% of the city's population, live in Delhi's slums. The 'Cities of Delhi' project points out that slums house 34% of the population. Research by Bhan and others, meanwhile, has found that slums only occupy 0.5% of the land in Delhi. 'You won't even give more than 15% of the city's population 0.5% of the land?' he asked. Devansh Mittal is a trainee correspondent with The Indian Express. He studied political science at Ashoka University. He can be reached at ... Read More
