Noida authority’s plan to shift slum dwellers hits hurdle
NOIDA: The Noida Authority has directed that the slums in Sectors 4,5,8,9 and 10 be sealed
after hundreds of residents said they were reluctant to shift to flats in Sector 122 even though
they had signed on to the rehabilitation scheme years ago.
Launched in 2011, the Jhuggi Jhopri Rehabilitation Scheme was introduced by the Noida
Authority to shift slum dwellers into flats in the city.
A decade on, there are few takers for the scheme. Around 3,528 flats – mostly 1BHK
apartments ‘Flats too small, far from work’ —have been built under the scheme. Of these, 2,064
were allotted through a draw in 2020 and 1,771 are ready for possession. But only 426 flats
have been occupied so far.
The residents of the sectors said on Sunday the slum dwellers were reluctant to shift into the
flats because they agreed to the scheme at a time they were not fully aware of the details.
The 1BHK-flats are too small in size to house their large families and the location in Sector 122
is far from their workplace, they said.
Many of those part of the scheme are workers in blue collar industries and domestic help
staffers who earn between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000 a month.
“Many people applied for the scheme without having full information about it,” said Rajkumar
Karotiya, who lives in Sector 8.
Karotiya added that the slum dwellers who opted for the scheme paid an initial Rs 5,000 to
apply for it, and later had to give Rs 50,000 annually to cover the cost of the Rs 7 lakh-flat.
Another resident of the sector alleged that this was an effort to uproot the slum dwellers. “Most
people are not ready to go there. Even those who have shifted need to commute here every day
for their work,” said Ram Babu.
Noida Authority officials, however, said the main reason for this lukewarm response to the
scheme was because the residents did not want to give up their dwellings although they had
signed affidavits saying that they would while being allotted the flats in 2020.
6/13/22, 4:39 PM ‘flats Too Small’: Noida’s Plan To Shift Slum Dwellers Hits Hurdle,
Under the scheme, the Authority had planned to seal the slum areas after the residents moved.
On Friday, Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari held a review meeting and directed officials to shift
slum dwellers into the 1,771 flats that were ready while kickstarting the sealing process.
“They have until June 25 to hand over the lease deed of their dwellings or else their allotted flats
will be cancelled and their existing houses will be sealed,” an authority official said.
He added that the unoccupied flats may be given to other categories of beneficiaries in the
future.
The Noida Authority and the district administration had jointly conducted a survey for the slum
rehabilitation plan in 2009-10. Of the 3,790 applicants in 2011-12, about 2,064 were considered
eligible for the scheme.
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