‘Never imagined we’d ever get a house like this’: JJ clusters celebrate as PM Modi inaugurates flats in Northwest Delhi
The Swabhiman Apartment complex has a total of 1,675 two-bedroom flats for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) residents.
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PM Modi hands over a symbolic key to an eligible beneficiary, Friday. (Express/Praveen Khanna)Ram Charan found himself in the spotlight on Friday. The 50-year-old construction worker shared the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who gave him a big blue key to symbolically hand over possession of his new house at Swabhiman Apartments in Northwest Delhi.
He and his wife Sheela Bai, residents of the nearby Golden Park slum cluster, then found themselves surrounded by BJP workers, government functionaries, and reporters, trying to get selfies and videos, along with four other couples, who like them were recipients of pucca houses meant to relocate them from slum clusters.
The couple, who have two children, are relieved to have a roof over their heads; Ram Charan hasn’t been able to find work in the last two months. “We never thought we would get a house like this… aaj hum narak se uthkar ujale mein aa gaye hai (we have been lifted from hell and ushered towards the light),” Sheela Bai said.
At the mega event in Ashok Vihar District Park, Modi inaugurated key infrastructure projects, including the 1,675 flats for residents of JJ clusters. These flats are part of the Delhi Development Authority’s ‘In-Situ Slum Rehabilitation Project’, under which it seeks to construct apartments near slums to relocate residents of jhuggi jhopdi clusters.
The Swabhiman Apartment complex has a total of 1,675 two-bedroom flats for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) residents. Each flat consists of two bedrooms, a kitchen, a balcony, a toilet, and a bathroom.
“For every Rs 25 lakh spent on construction of a flat by the government, eligible beneficiaries pay less than 7% of the total amount, comprising Rs 1.42 lakh as a nominal contribution and Rs 30,000 for five years of maintenance,” a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s office said.
Spread over 1.67 hectares, the project was completed at Rs 421 crore. This is the second such project inaugurated by Modi — the first being the launch of 3,000 flats at Kalkaji Extension in 2022.
Standing near Ram Charan, Rajwati, a 40-year-old construction worker who came to Delhi 27 years ago from Rajasthan’s Alwar, is hopeful of moving into her first flat soon. She and her husband, Shyamlal, also shared the stage with PM Modi at the event.
Currently, the couple lives at the Saawan Park JJ cluster. Describing the state of their present living conditions, Rajwati said, “We are living in such dirty conditions… the sewer overflows onto the street and into our homes, where the roof is already leaking.”
Another couple, Mohammad Manzoor Shah (70) and Amina Begum, said their dream of a home has been fulfilled. They have four children — two boys and two girls. Shah, who sells chataiyan (small carpets) in Narela, said they used to face problems with water and a lack of toilet facilities at their current home in Jailerwala Bagh in Ashok Vihar.
Ashok Kumar and Tarawati, who make statues for a living and stay in the Golden Park JJ cluster, said they got to know about the scheme around a year ago. “We had to pay Rs 1.72 lakh (for the flat), for which we borrowed around 1.5 lakh from friends and family,” Kumar said.
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