Kejriwal reviews progress of flat construction for Delhi slum dwellers

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday reviewed the progress of flats being constructed under the AAP government's rehabilitation policy for slum dwellers and instructed officials to expedite their allocation to the beneficiaries.

Construction of 89,400 flats on 237 acres of land for economically weaker sections (EWS) will be completed by 2025 in three phases under the 'Jahan Jhuggi Wahin Makaan' policy. The flats are being built within a radius of five kilometres of slums.

Kejriwal asked officials to notice the obstacles in implementation of the scheme so that they could be effectively removed and families living in slums can be shifted to their flats soon, said a Delhi government statement.

Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) officials informed the chief minister in the meeting that 18,084 flats under the scheme were "almost" ready, it said.

Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain and senior officials of DUSIB and Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) were present in the review meeting.

Officials said 34,260 flats are being built by the DSIIDC. Of these, 17,660 flats are ready and 16,600 are under construction.

In addition, 4,833 flats have been allotted to homeless families living in slums while the process of allocation of 7,031 flats is underway and will be completed soon, they said.

The Delhi government is building 52,344 flats in the first phase that will be completed and allotted by 2022. In the second phase about 18,000 flats are to be built, said the statement.

The remaining flats will be built in the third phase on the land that will be vacant after shifting homeless families to the flats built in the first two phases. The target is to complete the three phases by 2025, it added.