Kathputli delay: DDA blames NGOs

January 19, 2017 01:22 am | Updated 01:22 am IST - NEW DELHI:

Six years after the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) began working on its pilot in-situ redevelopment project at Kathputli Colony, the land-owning agency has blamed NGOs and others with vested interests for hampering the work and causing delays.

J.P. Agarwal, principal commissioner (DDA), said that every family living in Kathputli colony would get a flat as part of the rehabilitation project. Mr. Agarwal said that the DDA had asked the pradhans of all communities living in the slum cluster to update the list of residents.

First of its kind project

Kathputli Colony is the first of its kind redevelopment project being carried out by the DDA in partnership with a private developer. In lieu of constructing multi-storeyed flats for the slum dwellers, the developer will get a share of the land, which could be exploited commercially.

For work on the project to start, all residents of the slum cluster need to be moved to a transit camp that has been created at Anand Parbat nearby. While many families have already made the move, there are some who are yet to do so.

In 2010-11, the DDA had conducted a survey, which found that 2,754 families were living in the area. Mr. Agarwal, however, said that the list was being updated as several new people had moved to the camp, while some others who were minors earlier were now adults. About 400 more families are likely to be added to the list.

Mr. Agarwal said that no one was being forcibly moved from Kathputli Colony, and that police presence was being ensured to maintain law and order. He added that the DDA could have used force to evict people, but the authority chose not to do so.

According to Mr. Agarwal, the rest of the families are expected to move to the camp by March. Once the redevelopment project is completed, slum dwellers will be provided flats that cost ₹1.42 lakh each, which will include ₹30,000 as maintenance charges for the first five years.

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