New Slum Rehab policy: Delhi govt lays out plan for redeveloping 17 slum clusters

After notifying its new slum rehabilitation policy, which adopts a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for in-situ redevelopment, the Delhi government has initiated the process for the redevelopment of 17 slum settlements in Seelampur, Sultanpuri and Lajpat Nagar. The settlements, spread across the three locations, comprise a total of 4,870 shanties, for which the government plans to develop three high-rise residential colonies.

How the PPP policy will work

Under the Delhi Slum and Jhuggi Jhopri Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2026, private developers will be allowed to construct rehabilitation housing for eligible slum residents in exchange for development rights over commercially valuable portions of the land. The policy seeks to make redevelopment financially viable through mixed-use development and greater private-sector participation, marking a departure from the 2015 policy, under which the government remained the principal implementing agency.

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Feasibility studies and project planning

As the first step, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) will engage a private agency to conduct feasibility studies for redeveloping the three sites. The agency will also be required to prepare conceptual plans for high-rise residential buildings at each location, detailing estimated construction costs, total land area, permissible Floor Area Ratio (FAR), ground coverage, built-up area, number of flats and floors, parking provisions and other amenities.

A government official said that bids have been invited for these three areas to appoint transaction advisors for the selection of a developer for in-situ rehabilitation of Jhuggi Jhopri (JJ) Clusters. The feasibility study is expected to be completed within four months, following which the government will begin further planning for the projects.

Settlements included in the redevelopment plan

Among the 17 settlements, the largest is located along Brahmpuri Road in New Seelampur, North-East Delhi. Spread across 24,900 square metres, the settlement comprises 305 shanties. Another large cluster is located at EIG Pushta, where 418 shanties occupy 14,500 square metres. In Lajpat Nagar, the Jal Vihar settlement has 526 shanties spread across 9,700 square metres. Meanwhile, the Sultanpuri Labour Colony has 255 shanties spread across 9,551 square metres.

The four settlements being taken up in Seelampur cover 1,243 jhuggies including clusters in Block-G Gurdawra Park; CPJ-Block, Pushta EIJ Block and 3/4K Brahampuri Road in New Seelampur. Nine settlements are being taken up in Sultanpuri region with 1,997 jhuggies. These include places like Labour Colony Sultanpuri, F-7 Sultanpuri, E-6 Block, D-1 Machhi Chowk, F-Block Mangolpuri, G-Block, K-Block, L-Block and D-4 Block Sultanpuri. Remaining four clusters with 1630 jhuggies are located in Lajpat Nagar region, Jal Vihar Railway Line Shiv Mandir Marg, Vijay Camp Housing Factory Jal Vihar, Indira Gandhi Camp No.2 Jeewan Nagar near Hari Nagar and Indira Gandhi Camp No.1 Siddarth Basti near Ashram.

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Earlier PPP-based redevelopment projects

A DUSIB official said the proposed redevelopment would follow the model adopted for earlier PPP-based projects in the city.

The Kathputli JJ cluster was the first to be redeveloped into a high-rise residential colony under a public-private partnership. Subsequently, a residential complex was developed in Kalkaji by integrating the Bhumihin Camp and Navjeevan Camp settlements. In Ashok Vihar, a residential colony was developed by consolidating the Jailer Wala Bagh Main cluster, near Satyawati Colony and the railway tracks, along with shanties in A and B blocks and those located alongside the tracks.

The proposed projects in Seelampur, Sultanpuri and Lajpat Nagar will similarly seek to consolidate multiple JJ settlements into three integrated high-rise residential colonies, officials said.