Eyeing on the upcoming assembly polls and slum votes, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Thursday approved major changes in slums and Jhuggi-Jhopri policy modifying it in situ rehabilitation including in terms of density relaxation, revised apportionment of land area for remunerative and non-remunerative component, Floor Area Ratio, clubbing of clusters for redevelopment spread across a radius of 0.05 kms. The modification, apart from providing right to dignified housing to the slum dwellers of the city, will also create affordable housing stock as well as commercial space for Delhi residents. As of September 2022, Delhi has 675 JJ clusters and an estimated population of about 21.6 lakh people.
The decision to modify the slum and jj policy was taken at the meeting of the Delhi Development Authority on Thursday. After the approval, the authority will send the proposal to Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for further notification. According to DDA, the medication will allow make projects more viable and more players to come for in situ slum projects and thereby more houses to be built.
In a bid to woo the slum dwellers in the upcoming assembly polls in Delhi, the leaders of ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the opposition BJP and the Congress are visiting the jhuggi clusters, meeting people and spending nights with them. AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal termed the BJP leaders visit as “ jhuggis tourism”. The AAP is hoping that Muslim and slum votes will help them to win the national capital while the Congress and BJP are hoping to dent AAP’s vote bank.
As per the modifications, an increased FAR of 500 has been allowed both for the residential as well as remunerative components in the In-Situ Rehabilitation Projects on plots measuring 2000 sqm and above. This is a significant increase from 300 FAR to 500 FAR for the commercial component, while for the rehab component, FAR has been increased from 400 to 500. Under the new modifications, at least 40% of the total plot area will be utilized for residential purposes while the remaining area could be utilized for remunerative / commercial purposes. Further, any unutilized FAR in rehabilitation component, will also be allowed to be availed by the developers in the remunerative / commercial plot area.
According to a statement issued by the authority, this decision will ensure more number of dwelling units for the slum dwellers as well as more commercial space to make the project financially viable for the developers. This will also ensure that 100 percent of the beneficiaries (slum dwellers) will be accommodated in-situ.
In terms of allowing clubbing of plots over an area spread over 05 kms, the developer will be able to redevelop a particular site only for the rehabilitation of the slum dwellers in modern multi-storey complexes, while the other site could be utilized exclusively for development of residential / commercial complexes for remunerative use by the developer.
This initiative will provide eligible residents of informal JJ clusters with modern housing, along with essential public amenities. This comes as a major step towards social empowerment, as the programme offers ownership titles to residents, giving them a sense of security and stability. By upgrading housing and infrastructure, the In-Situ Slum Rehabilitation (ISR) programme supports the integration of slum dwellers into the formal urban fabric, contributing to social mobility and improving the overall quality of life for the urban poor.
