Curation Team
NEW DELHI: Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has said that 50% of the total 2,800 flats at Kathputli Colony are close to ready and will be handed over to allottees this financial year. Kathputli Colony is the first in-situ rehabilitation initiative in Delhi.
Officials have said that the concessionaire has applied for the fire safety NoC and other approvals that are required to start the allotments of the 1,400 EWS flats. “The fire department has pointed out a few deficiencies, which the builder is addressing. Work on securing utility connections and permissions are on. Once the clearances come, the flats will be allotted through a draw of lots. The identification of eligible beneficiaries has already been done,” a DDA official said.
Union minister of housing and urban affairs ML Khattar reviewed the project’s progress in Aug. He directed officials to resolve all pending issues involving the builder, DDA and the ministry. “The residential blocks are largely ready. Work is on for facilities such as the fire exits, community hall and shared areas,” a DDA member and BJP functionary Rajiv Babbar earlier said.
The project, being executed under the PPP model, was started on a 5.2-hectare (12.89-acre) site in west Delhi in 2009 when DDA allotted the land to a developer. Before that, jhuggi dwellers had encroached on the land for around 50 years. Many puppeteers, musicians, sculptors, wood carvers, weavers and craftsmen, along with their families, resided there.
A decision was taken to shift the dwellers to the transit camp at Anand Parbat. Work on the camp was completed in April 2013.
The families were shifted to Anand Parbat till 2017 amid resistance from a section of local people. Out of 3,292 eligible people, 2,800 were shifted to the transit camps. The others were allotted DDA-built flats in Narela. After several hiccups and court interventions, work started in 2018. The plan was to make 2,800 flats in 10-storey towers. But the deadline to complete the project in two years has long passed. Officials said the delays were due to the cases filed by the residents and NGOs.
