Delhi government to carry out repairs in vacant EWS flats

NEW DELHI: Three months after a block of EWS flats, lying vacant and in a dilapidated state, collapsed in Bawana, Delhi government has decided to carry out their repairs. To start with, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), which is responsible for identification of eligible slum dwellers through surveys and taking up the allotment process, will be carrying out the repair work of about 2,000 such units located in Dwarka Sector 16.

Officials confirmed that the repair of all flats constructed under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) by different government agencies would be taken up in a phased manner.

“There is a huge inventory of EWS flats that are lying vacant and require maintenance. Since these houses need to be made livable, we have decided to start the repair work. In the first phase, 2,000 flats in Dwarka are being taken up,”
said a senior Delhi government official. Based on several surveys in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Delhi government, with a generous financial support from the Centre under JNNURM and RAY, planned about 55,000-odd EWS flats having one room, kitchen, bathroom in Narela, Bawana, Savda Ghewra, Bapraula, Rohini, Dwarka and Jahangirpuri. The idea was to rehabilitate over 4 lakh residents of over 650 slums. While about 39,000 flats were built and close to 4,000 were even allotted, the remaining have been lying vacant due to various reasons. The possession of the flats in Jahangirpuri, Nangloi, Dwarka and Rohini was immediately taken by the beneficiaries, but there were no takers for houses in Narela, Bawana, Bhalswaand beyond.

Interestingly, Delhi government, through DUSIB, collected about Rs 40 crore from the applicants and another Rs 76 crore from other government agencies to rehabilitate slum dwellers having jhuggis on their land. Once repaired, Delhi government is likely to hand over about 16,000 such flats to the Centre to be given to the migrant population under Affordable Housing Rental Complex scheme, while nearly 18,000 would be allotted under Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana.

“We will soon sign an MoU with the Centre in this regard. The flats will be handed over to the Centre after carrying out the repairs,” said an official.