11 slum clusters to be relocated on priority in Delhi for key infra works

For the shanties situated on IIT land in RK Puram, DUSIB has demanded a relocation charge of ₹23.15 crore.

The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) is working on rehabilitation plan to prioritise the relocation of 11 slum clusters, comprising of 2,236 households, on land required for key infrastructure projects, senior government officials said. However, activists said, the plan to provide these residents alternative housing in Sawda Ghevra under a rehabilitation scheme is a violation of guidelines.

DUSIB is also undertaking the repair of around 1,000 flats in Sultanpuri, 980 flats in Dwarka sector 16B, along with thousands of flats in Jahangirpuri and Bhalswa, which will be used for more rehabilitation projects. (Representational Photo/HT)

A senior government official said that recently the committee, headed by secretary of urban development department, directed that these 11 slum clusters be taken up on priority because of their location. “The slum dwellers found eligible as per the slum rehabilitation policy will all be accommodated in EWS flats in northwest Delhi’s Sawda Ghevra,” the official explained.

The eleven slum clusters include VP Singh camp in Tughlaqabad; Alam Bund at Jahangirpuri; Rajiv Camp in Saidabad; Mahiwal Saraswati Camp in RK Puram; Dhobi ghat no.27 near Mirdard Road of the Maulana Azad Medical College campus; Ranjeet Road camp at Lok Nayak Hospital; as well as the Bhai Ram Camp, Masjid Camp, and DID Camp that are all located near Race Course Road.

“The rehabilitation will be carried out in order of the relocation charge payment by the respective land owning agency,” said the official quoted above. 632 units are situated on land belonging to the Land and Development Office (L&DO), 1,047 on land owned by MAMC and 298 on IIT Delhi land. The rest is under the ownership of DMRC, MCD and the Container Corporation of India. A demand of ₹94 crore has been raised as relocation charges to rehabilitate the residents of the shanties built on MAMC land.

For the shanties situated on IIT land in RK Puram, DUSIB has demanded a relocation charge of ₹23.15 crore. DUSIB officials state that the agencies have not yet deposited these relocation charges; the residents will be rehabilitated only after the charges have been deposited.

On April 24, HT had reported that DUSIB in a meeting headed by CM Rekha Gupta has cleared the way for allotment of alternative accommodation for rehabilitation of the slum dwellers of three bastis near the Prime Minister’s House on Race Court Road. DUSIB has requested relocation charges of around ₹84.9 crore from the central government to facilitate the relocation. 717 EWS flats in North Delhi’s Savda Ghewra are being allocated to the slum dwellers from three camps located near PM house.

“The issue was taken up in the sub-committee meeting where DUSIB said that of the 2,416 Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) Economically Weaker Section (EWS) flats at Savda Ghevra, 1,400 have been made habitable,” the official further said. “The government is working on restoring these old flats which will be used for rehabilitation of more slums in coming months.”

DUSIB is also undertaking the repair of around 1,000 flats in Sultanpuri, 980 flats in Dwarka sector 16B, along with thousands of flats in Jahangirpuri and Bhalswa, which will be used for more rehabilitation projects.

Sunil Aledia, executive director of Centre for Holistic Development, which works for the welfare of the homeless and people from EWS said that the relocation to faraway places like Ghevra is a violation of previous slum rehabilitation guidelines which mandate rehabilitation in the nearby areas.

“The government has ample land but the focus is on commercial use of the land, not on the welfare of these families. Who will provide them work in these faraway places? How will they commute daily to houses where they work right now?” he said.