Realising that it could not meet the deadline set by the Centre, the Delhi Government is considering scrapping the construction of 9,000 flats for the urban poor. The Delhi Government has written to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) to whittle down another 9,060 such units of the total 67,784.
These flats are part of some 68,000 low-cost flats sanctioned by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime under its flagship Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewable Mission (JnNURM) scheme.
The estimated cost of these projects was Rs 3,244 crore and 35 per cent of the amount had to be borne by the Central Government. All these 9,000 flats that are to be dropped are located in West Delhi and divided in five of the 17 projects. The construction of 3,600 such flats has already been dropped.
A total of 6,480 flats had to be constructed at Poothkurd Phase I in Bawana by Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC). But now the Government wants to build only 3,840 flats. In Phase II of the same project, it wants the number of housing units to be reduced from 7,720 to 6,000. In Tikri Kalan, where 8,420 flats had to be constructed for slum dwellers, the Government now wants to scrap 5,740 units. In Sultanpuri, instead of building 1,180 flats, the Government wants only 1,060 flats.
At Narela, construction of 4,740 flats was to take place. The Delhi Government wants to bring it down to 2,840. What is ironical, officials say, is that only 4,000 flats have been allotted, of which “only some 300 have been occupied”.