DDA plans to hand over first batch of flats in Kalkaji Extension & Kathputli Colony this month

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Development Authority plans to hand over the first batch of flats built under in situ slum redevelopment projects at Kalkaji Extension and Kathputli Colony this month.

While the first lot of 720 flats will be handed over to Kathputli Colony residents this month itself, 1,575 flats at Kalkaji Extension have already been allotted and possession letters are expected to
be issued soon.
While its first two in situ slum redevelopment projects have been delayed by more
than a decade, a DDA official said that the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) has now been engaged for suggesting amendments in the In-Situ Rehabilitation Policy.
A DDA official said 2,890 households were found in the Bhoomiheen Camp at A14, Kalkaji Extension in a preliminary survey. “Accordingly, DDA has constructed 3,024 flats for their in situ rehabilitation,” he said. Draw was conducted in different phases this year for the households found eligible by an eligibility etermination committee, he added.
“The flats are now ready in all respects and 1,575 flats have already been allotted,” the official said. “They are in the process of submission of payment and documents. On receipt of full payment and documents, possession letters will be issued.” DDA is carrying out the process of installation of firefighting and fire alarm systems in the rest of the flats in the complex.

Apartment blocks at the Kathputli Colony in situ slum redevelopment complex are also ready and the first batch of around 720 flats out of the total 2,800 are going to be handed over this month. Sources say the first flats may be handed over to the residents by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The flats at both the projects will be allotted on a payment of Rs 1,42,000, which includes Rs 30,000 as maintenance charge for five years NIUA’s director Hitesh Vaidya told TOI that the think tank has already been working with the authority on the preparation of the Master Plan for Delhi-2041 and it has suggested changes in the rehabilitation policy as part of the process.

“The one size fits all approach wouldn’t work and we have to look at aspects of the requirements of the area, the kind of work the people living in the area are involved in, etc.,” Vaidya said, adding that NIUA has also studied successful in situ
models across the country to find the best solutions. He said that the approach has to be tailor-made for each slum. While DDA’s first in situ slum rehabilitation project at Kathputli Colony is being developed as a public-private partnership (PPP) project, the Kalkaji project has been carried out by DDA itself. For remaining slum clusters in the area, like Navjeevan Camp, a scheme under PPP project mode has been proposed.

While the flats in the 14-storey residential towers that DDA has constructed came up on a vacant land parcel, the area from which slum dwellers will be shifted will be cleared for creating the next phase of the project. In the next phase, 5,382 flats are proposed to be built under PPP. As part of in situ slum redevelopment projects, 7,499 flats are under different stages of construction, including 1,675 at Jailorwala Bagh. Apart from this, DDA has floated tenders for 10,337 flats at six
locations and detailed project reports will be prepared for 15,086 more flats at four other locations.