DDA floats tender to rehabilitate 21,229 slum households

Residents of 45 slum clusters across Delhi, home to over one lakh people, are set to get dignified housing and improved civic infrastructure, with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) floating a Request for Proposal to engage three transaction advisors for preparing feasibility reports covering these clusters under the in-situ rehabilitation initiative.

The move, taken under the guidance of Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu, marks the start of implementing In-Situ Rehabilitation of JJ Clusters envisaged under the Delhi Master Plan 2047. The plan provides for dignified housing for approximately 17 lakh people currently living across more than 650 JJ Clusters in Delhi, with this RFP covering an initial set of 15 projects spanning 45 of these clusters.

The 45 clusters comprise approximately 21,229 households spread over 135.74 acres of land. DDA said the initiative is likely to benefit more than one lakh people by facilitating improved housing, civic infrastructure and living conditions for residents currently living in these settlements.

The RFP has been invited from firms empanelled with the Department of Economic Affairs and the National Land Monetization Corporation. The engaged Transaction Advisors will undertake comprehensive feasibility assessments covering rehabilitation requirements, development potential, infrastructure needs, financial viability and suitable implementation models for the identified projects. DDA said the feasibility reports prepared by these advisors would provide the technical and financial basis for structuring and implementing the projects in a systematic, transparent and sustainable manner, ensuring the rehabilitation process for each cluster is grounded in actual on-ground assessment rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Officials described the initiative as an important milestone toward the planned transformation of the identified JJ Clusters, reflecting DDA’s commitment to inclusive urban development, rehabilitation of residents and improved quality of life for communities that have long lived in informal settlements across the city.

Beyond improving housing conditions for existing residents, DDA said the project would also enable planned and optimum utilisation of valuable land currently occupied by these clusters, opening up housing stock and commercial space that could serve a larger population once the rehabilitation process is complete.

For families currently living in these 45 clusters, the rehabilitation process is expected to replace informal, often precarious housing with planned, quality living spaces, while also extending access to proper civic infrastructure that many slum residents have historically lacked. DDA framed the broader initiative as guided by the Prime Minister’s vision of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas,” positioning the rehabilitation of slum clusters as part of a wider commitment to inclusive development across the Capital.

With the RFP now floated and feasibility assessments set to begin, the coming phase will determine the specific rehabilitation and implementation models for each of the 15 projects, based on the technical and financial findings of the appointed Transaction Advisors. The initiative covers only a portion of the more than 650 JJ Clusters identified under the Master Plan, suggesting this round of 45 clusters represents an early phase in what DDA has described as a much larger citywide rehabilitation effort still to unfold across Delhi’s remaining informal settlements.