The deteriorating and deserted red-and-white five-storey buildings housing 7,400 flats for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in Bhalswa, north Delhi, may soon be transformed into a modern residential complex, with the Rekha Gupta-led government planning their redevelopment.
The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), which manages the flats, has initiated the tender process for repairs.
“The flats require repairs to make them habitable again. We presented a few proposals during our meeting with the Chief Minister. We are revising the proposals as per the suggestions of the board members and aiming to start the tender process within six months for all the sites,” said a senior DUSIB official.
Ms. Gupta visited the Bhalswa flats on December 9 and called the ongoing vacancy a “grave injustice to poor families”. She said the government will turn the site into a modern residential complex.
The DUSIB is in charge of 18,000 low-cost EWS flats across Dwarka, Sultanpuri, Savda Ghevra, and Bhalswa under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). It aimed at providing affordable housing to jhuggi-jhopri (JJ) dwellers. However, the flats remain empty, despite officials claiming that hundreds of eligible beneficiary families have already been identified.
