Kathputli redevelopment project: 3 residential towers to be ready for use by Dec

Residents of Kathputli Colony, who are currently residing in atransit camp, will soon be shifted to 'pucca' houses as three residential towers will be ready for their use by December, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said.

Puri and Lt Governor Anil Baijal had laid the foundation stone for Kathputli Colony in-situ slum redevelopment project in west Delhi in April 2018.

According to the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, around 2,800 families will be provided flats being constructed on public-private partnership model.

"The work on Kathputli Colony redevelopment project is in full swing. We will soon start allotting flats to 2800 families.

"By December this year, the three under-construction residential towers will be ready for use," the Union minister told PTI.

As per rough estimate, around 500 families will be shifted to these three towers.

He said there were some issues including electricity and others, which have now been sorted out by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

Besides residential units, the project plan includes community spaces, a police post, weekly market, retail outlets and a designated area for wedding ceremonies.

Kathputli Colony was home to a large number of puppeteers, magicians, singers and musicians.

In September 2009, the DDA had taken over the site as its first in-situ redevelopment project on PPP model and the residents were shifted to a transit camp.

Shifting of families from the colony to the transit camp in Anand Parbat had been initially faced with resistance over the years.

The project is being executed with the help of a private developer, who in turn will get a substantial part of land for commercial use as part of the project.

In November 2017, the court had allowed the DDA to demolish the slums of those residents of Kathputli colony who were eligible for relocation and had moved out voluntarily.