These 30 thousand houses built for the poor in Delhi are still deserted, who is responsible for this?

Despite the intervention of the Delhi High Court, more than 30 thousand houses built by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) for the urban poor and slum dwellers have been lying vacant for years. These houses are becoming dilapidated while lying vacant. After the High Court's reprimand last year, it was revealed that out of the 52 thousand houses worth more than Rs 2,000 crore approved for the urban poor in Delhi, more than 35 thousand houses had been built. However, only 4800 houses out of these were allotted, due to which more than 30 thousand houses were lying vacant.

The poor are not able to get houses due to mutual conflict

On July 10 this year, the High Court again directed DUSIB to ensure that these houses become habitable as soon as possible. The Delhi government claims that due to policy conflict, lakhs of urban poor are not able to get permanent houses. The July order referred to the high court's earlier order of September 18, 2023, under which a high-level committee comprising representatives of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Delhi Development Authority DUSIB and the Delhi government was formed to expedite the allotment of already constructed houses.

Orders to repair dilapidated houses

The court had also said in the same order that some of the constructed houses need immediate repairs due to deterioration of infrastructure due to delay and non-use. The court also asked the Delhi government to complete the pending construction work, repair the already constructed houses and

However, despite repeated reminders from the court, nothing much has happened, while many eligible slum dwellers are forced to live in fear of anti-encroachment drives. And asked to make a concrete action plan to allot them. The court had also said that many constructed houses did not have basic amenities like water and electricity.

However, despite repeated reminders from the court, nothing much has happened, while many eligible slum dwellers are forced to live in fear of anti-encroachment drives. And asked to make a concrete action plan to allot them. The court had also said that many constructed houses did not have basic amenities like water and electricity.

Thousands of houses lying vacant and falling into disrepair

Our colleague Times of India visited one such place in Bhalswa and found a ghost town of thousands of vacant flats, many of which were in a dilapidated condition. Deep cracks had developed in the stairs and walls and the pipelines were damaged. The view inside the houses looked as if no one lived there. DUSIB officials refused to comment on the matter and only said that the responsibility of ensuring allotment lies with the Delhi government's urban development department.

Delhi government blames the Centre

On the other hand, the Delhi government claimed that the central government was not allowing it to allot houses. A reply from the Delhi government claimed, 'The flats located in Bhalswa have been built for allotment to eligible slum dwellers under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana (MMAY). Thousands of other flats have been built for rehabilitation of slum dwellers. However, no flat is being allotted to slum dwellers under MMAY as the central government is not giving approval. The Centre says that all such flats should be allotted under the affordable rental housing scheme, which means they will be given on rent.'

Poor people forced to live on footpaths

The Delhi government claimed that previous talks held by the then urban development minister and deputy chief minister of Delhi with the Centre did not yield any results. The government further claimed that the Centre's plan is impractical as no slum dweller is willing to move to rental accommodation. The government said, "On one hand, central agencies are demolishing JJ clusters all over Delhi and on the other, they are not willing to rehabilitate these people. This is creating a humanitarian crisis in Delhi where poor people are forced to live on roads and footpaths and under flyovers. They lose their livelihood and their children are unable to go to school, leading to further civic and social problems."