Delhi: Slum dwellers of Kathputli Colony to get flats soon

NEW DELHI: After missing several deadlines, the Delhi Development Authority’s in-situ slum redevelopment project for Kathputli Colony is nearing completion.
Officials said the allotment of 1BHK flats to eligible slum dwellers of Kathputli Colony in a multi-storey
apartment complex in Shadipur, near Karol Bagh, is likely to start by December.
The 14 towers of the housing complex have a total of 2,800 EWS flats. Officials said over 2,000 flats would be ready in a few months, and the allotment process would start soon. The project was announced in 2008, and construction work was awarded to Raheja Developers in August 2009. The project has been beset with setbacks and massive delays in every step, starting with surveying the eligible population, relocating all slum dwellers to a transit camp at Anand Parbat, and finally, ongoing construction.

A Raj Niwas official said lieutenant governor VK Saxena held several meetings with DDA officials in the last one year and monitored the progress of the project. “There has been constant pressure from the LG on officials to complete the work and hand over the possession of the flats to eligible beneficiaries,” the official said, adding that Saxena visited the project
site on Saturday to assess the speed of the work.
“In-situ rehabilitation of slum dwellers in Delhi has been a focus area for PM Narendra Modi himself,” the Raj Niwas official said.
The rehabilitation of residents at Kathputli Colony – which was inhabited by puppeteers, singers, magicians and other artisans who started living on public land in the 1950s – began in 2014. Most of the
residents were moved to Anand Parbat transit camp, while some had been shifted to DDA flats in Narela.

The foundation stone of the project was laid on April 24, 2018 by Union minister for housing and urban
affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, and the first batch of slum dwellers were expected to get the flats by March
2019. But clearing the land to be handed over to developers was completed in 2019. The new complex has earmarked workshop and storage area for puppeteers and musicians. In lieu of constructing 2,800 houses for slum dwellers, the developer would be entitled to build and
dispose of 170 freehold HIG flats and commercial built-up area equivalent to 10% of EWS floor area ratio
on a leasehold basis.

Officials said that theJailorwala Bagh housing complex, another in-situ slum redevelopment project, was
also on course for completion now. While the housing complex has a total of 1,675 flats, 1,078
households have been given demand-cum-allotment letters.
“Almost 1,000 beneficiaries have deposited the money, while 900 of them have submitted the requisite
documents for possession. The DDA is verifying them. So far it has found 600 files complete in all
respects,” the official said.
“The remaining 582 EWS flats would be allotted to eligible families in the Golden Park and Rampura
slums. The project is likely to be completed by November 2023,” he added.