Delhi: 1,073 applicants allotted flats under 34-year-old scheme

The Residential Flats Registration Scheme 1985 was launched by the erstwhile Slum and Jhuggi-Jhopri Department (S&JJ), now known as DUSIB, when it was still under the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). The S&JJ department was transferred to the MCD in 1992 and it was only in 2010 that DUSIB, which comes under the Delhi government, was created.

The scheme was forgotten amidst the back and forth on who controls the department.

According to official records, as many as 27,693 applicants had registered under the scheme. Before it was grounded, 5,662 applicants were allotted flats. Around 2,550 registrants decided to withdraw from the scheme and the remaining 19,481 were put on a waiting list.

As the wait grew, many applicants moved the courts. Meanwhile, a decision was taken to refund the registration money with interest. However, the Delhi Finance Department red-flagged it, observing “it would be unfair”. The department then suggested using the housing inventory built under JNNURM, largely lying unoccupied, for allotment.

The population of slum dwellers in the national capital is about 30 lakh, according to DUSIB’s own estimates.

As The Indian Express reported on July 15, as many as 31,424 one-BHK flats were built under JNNURM by various agencies, including the DSIIDC, DUSIB, New Delhi Municipal Council and DDA. Around 24,000 more are at various stages of construction. But not more than 2,000 of those flats have occupants.

The 1985 scheme was revived after the proposal received the nod of the L-G and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The Rs 407-crore Savda Ghera project was launched in 2012.