DDA to rehabilitate dwellers from 23 slum clusters in Delhi

Delhi has 675 slum clusters, of which a majority are under the DDA’s jurisdiction, as these are located on land either owned by the DDA or the central government.(HT File / Photo used for representational purpose )

In a bid to make Delhi slum-free, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is planning to take up the in-situ rehabilitation of slums on Public- Private Partnership (PPP) basis. To begin with, the land-owning agency has identified 23 slum clusters and written to the Delhi government’s Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to start a survey.

After the DDA kick-started the in-situ redevelopment project at Kathputli Colony last year, which is the first such project in Delhi being implemented on the PPP model, it was decided to carry out slum rehabilitation on the basis of the PPP model as well. A policy in this regard was approved by the DDA last month.

Tarun Kapoor, the vice-chairman of the DDA, said, “We have identified 23 slum clusters where we plan to carry out in-situ redevelopment. We will soon notify the policy under which it will be carried out. A private developer will construct houses for slum dwellers on the land. Close to 30-40% of the land will be kept by the developer for commercial use… We are following the DUSIB’s policy for identifying genuine slum dwellers and allotting flats to them.”

The 23 clusters are located in Kalkaji Extension, Ashok Vihar, sectors 18 and 19 in Rohini, Pitampura, Vikaspuri, Kirti Nagar, Shalimar Bagh and Dilshad Garden. The DDA has written to the DUSIB to survey these 23 clusters so that it can start the process to award contracts.

“Once the survey is done, we can hire a consultant to prepare a detailed project report and, based on it, we can float the tender for the project,” a senior DDA official said on condition of anonymity.

In Delhi, there are 675 slum clusters, of which a majority are under the DDA’s jurisdiction, as these are located on land either owned by the DDA or the central government. The DUSIB has just 99 clusters under its jurisdiction, a DUSIB official said.

“The system to conduct the survey is in place, we are just waiting for the scheme to be notified. The survey will be done using an online system,” a senior DUSIB official said.

First Published: Jan 03, 2019 15:23 IST