DDA to survey 96 slums in three months for in situ rehabilitation

NEW DELHI: Around 20 lakh people live in 675 slum clusters that dot the capital and out of these, 499 are on land belonging to Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the central government.

Even as work is going on for a decade on DDA’s in situ slum redevelopment projects at Kathputli Colony and Kalkaji and six similar projects covering 30 slum clusters are in the pipeline, the land development agency is embarking on a detailed survey of 96 slum clusters. These slums may see redevelopment in future.

The quality of housing in slum or jhuggi-jhopri clusters is abysmal and the access to basic amenities for their residents is extremely inadequate. Officials said that DDA is implementing a three-pronged strategy of in situ upgradation, redevelopment and rehabilitation or relocation of slum dwellers, in a phased manner.

The aim behind the survey, which will be carried out house-to-house over a period of three months, is to assess the number of people and households in approximately 96 slum clusters with documents on their status and eligibility for resettlement or in situ redevelopment. Besides providing inputs for development, the survey will also result in stakeholder analysis to understand people’s perception of their problems and aspirations.

The survey will help DDA in assessing the affordability of the people for housing and to develop suitable housing and related indicators, which are required for monitoring, evaluation and planning.

The survey, for which DDA is looking for a professional agency, will help create a comprehensive database of slum clusters and dwellers for rehabilitation, complying with the requirement of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Urban). After verification, the data will be updated on a mobile application in an electronic format along with GIS maps.

During the survey, rough sketch plans of the clusters, showing the demarcation of boundaries and respective areas, will also be recorded. The survey will be supervised and the data will be finalised for eligibility by the in situ rehabilitation branch, Housing DDA.
DDA to survey 96 slums in three months for in situ rehabilitationOut of the 96 slum clusters, the largest number – 42 – are located in and around Okhla Industrial Area. The largest of these clusters is Sanjay Colony, which is spread over 53,000 square metres with 3,792 households in Okhla Phase-II.

Apart from Okhla Industrial Area, majority of the slum clusters are located in south and southeast Delhi areas, such as Lodhi Road, Bhogal, Amar Colony, Nehru Nagar, Kalkaji, Sukhdev Vihar, Mehrauli, Ashram, Anant Ram Dairy, Sangam Vihar, Prahlad Pur, Badarpur and Tughlaqabad. Other clusters are located in west and northwest Delhi areas like Todapur, Jwalapuri, Rohini Sector-3, Maya Puri and Peeragarhi.