New Slum Rehab policy: Delhi govt lays out plan for redeveloping 17 slum clusters

After notifying its new slum rehabilitation policy, which adopts a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for in-situ redevelopment, the Delhi government has initiated the process for the redevelopment of 17 slum settlements in Seelampur, Sultanpuri and Lajpat Nagar.

The settlements, spread across the three locations, comprise a total of 4,870 shanties, for which the government plans to develop three high-rise residential colonies. As the first step, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) will engage a private agency to conduct feasibility studies for redeveloping the three sites.

The agency will also be required to prepare conceptual plans for high-rise residential buildings at each location, detailing estimated construction costs, total land area, permissible Floor Area Ratio (FAR), ground coverage, built-up area, number of flats and floors, parking provisions and other amenities.

A government official said that bids have been invited for these three areas to appoint transaction advisors for the selection of a developer for in-situ rehabilitation of Jhuggi Jhopri (JJ) Clusters. The feasibility study is expected to be completed within four months, following which the government will begin further planning for the projects.

Among the 17 settlements, the largest is located along Brahmpuri Road in New Seelampur, North-East Delhi. Spread across 24,900 square metres, the settlement comprises 305 shanties. Another large cluster is located at EIG Pushta, where 418 shanties occupy 14,500 square metres.

In Lajpat Nagar, the Jal Vihar settlement has 526 shanties spread across 9,700 square metres. Meanwhile, the Sultanpuri Labour Colony has 255 shanties spread across 9,551 square metres. The four settlements being taken up in Seelampur cover 1,243 jhuggies including clusters in Block-G Gurdawra Park; CPJ-Block, Pushta EIJ Block and 3/4K Brahampuri Road in New Seelampur.

Nine settlements are being taken up in Sultanpuri region with 1,997 jhuggies. These include places like Labour Colony Sultanpuri, F-7 Sultanpuri, E-6 Block, D-1 Machhi Chowk, F-Block Mangolpuri, G-Block, K-Block, L-Block and D-4 Block Sultanpuri.

Remaining four clusters with 1630 jhuggies are located in Lajpat Nagar region, Jal Vihar Railway Line Shiv Mandir Marg, Vijay Camp Housing Factory Jal Vihar, Indira Gandhi Camp No.2 Jeewan Nagar near Hari Nagar and Indira Gandhi Camp No.1 Siddarth Basti near Ashram.

A DUSIB official said the proposed redevelopment would follow the model adopted for earlier PPP-based projects in the city. The Kathputli JJ cluster was the first to be redeveloped into a high-rise residential colony under a public-private partnership.

Subsequently, a residential complex was developed in Kalkaji by integrating the Bhumihin Camp and Navjeevan Camp settlements. In Ashok Vihar, a residential colony was developed by consolidating the Jailer Wala Bagh Main cluster, near Satyawati Colony and the railway tracks, along with shanties in A and B blocks and those located alongside the tracks.

The proposed projects in Seelampur, Sultanpuri and Lajpat Nagar will similarly seek to consolidate multiple JJ settlements into three integrated high-rise residential colonies, officials said. Paras Singh is a New Delhi-based journalist with Hindustan Times, where he serves as Deputy Metro Editor.

He reports on urban governance, the Delhi government, the Delhi BJP, water management, the environment, communities and city life. He joined Hindustan Times in 2021 after beginning his journalism career at The Times of India in 2016, where he covered civic bodies, the water and power sectors, and urban infrastructure.

Over the last decade, some of his reporting has led to significant public impact, with investigations into environmental violations, corruption and illegal industrial activity contributing to multiple judicial interventions by the National Green Tribunal and the Delhi High Court.

A graduate of St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi, Paras studied journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi. Having extensively covered the capital's evolving civic and governance landscape, his recent work increasingly explores Delhi's history, built heritage, urban evolution and the relationship between people and place, alongside continuing to report on governance and public policy.Read More