DDA asks Delhi govt for land to shelter 30 lakh slum-dwellers

“The only way to improve their living conditions is to either go for in-situ development,for which we require approval from various agencies that own the land,or build new houses. For new development,around 4 lakh flats or land area of approximately 2,700 acres is required. For this purpose,we have asked the DDA to allot more land,” Walia said.

The state government will be distributing around 4,000 new flats,built by the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (DSIIDC),to the urban poor under its rehabilitation efforts within a month. “By April-March next year,the DSIIDC will be delivering another 10,000 flats to the urban poor in Delhi,” he said.

Of the 65,000 dwelling units approved by the union government under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission,the DSIIDC would be building an additional 15,000 flats in the next six months for the economically weaker sections and lower income groups.

The minister lashed out at the DDA and the slum department,which has not started the work on the remaining number of houses for the construction of EWS and LIG housing under the JNNURM.

On the issue of the vast gap between supply and demand of housing in the city,the state minister attributed it to the multiplicity of authority structures. “While the DDA falls under the central government,the slum development department falls under the union home ministry. The only development authority which comes under the purview of Delhi state is DSIIDC,” he said.

In fact,the minister,in his meeting with the Central Housing and Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja today,made a strong pitch for bringing the slum development department under Delhi government’s purview. In his meeting,he also pointed to the delays in the housing project completion by the DDA as a reason for housing shortage in the city.