212 DDA demolition drives cancelled in last 5 years, Centre informs Rajya Sabha

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), legal hurdles stemmed from “status-quo orders issued by Honorable Courts with undefined end date,” as well as orders under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which restricts construction and demolition activity during periods of high pollution.

On administrative bottlenecks, the ministry pointed to a “difference in the demarcation of land at site by DDA Staff and Revenue Department,” along with a lack of timely support from other agencies in joint demolition programs.

To address the coordination gap between the DDA, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and the Revenue department, the ministry said joint inspections are now being conducted along with a Special Task Force (STF). It added that a nodal officer had been nominated in each department to resolve related issues in a timely manner, alongside advance correspondence between departments on anticipated problems.

Meanwhile, in disclosures made last week in response to questions raised by Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi, the ministry said that of the 1,116 demolition drives conducted over the last three years, the DDA’s Engineering Wing carried out 600 drives, reclaiming about 1,445 acres. The bulk of the land reclaimed in these drives was in the East Zone, where 206 drives led to the reclamation of 1,318 acres.

The Land Management Department, meanwhile, carried out a further 516 demolitions, reclaiming approximately 1,274 acres. In total, around 532 acres of land was reclaimed in drives conducted in 2024, and 408 acres in 2023. The least amount, 333 acres, was reclaimed in 2025.

On rehabilitation, the ministry said measures for more than 3,100 eligible beneficiaries were undertaken under the Delhi Slum and Jhuggi Jhopri Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015. As many as 1,800 families from Bhoomiheen Camp in Southeast Delhi’s Govindpuri have been rehabilitated with Economically Weaker Section (EWS) flats at A-14, Kalkaji Extension, while 1,360 families from slum clusters at Jailor Wala Bagh, Mata Jai Kaur, and Golden Park have been rehabilitated at Swabhiman Apartments, Ashok Vihar.