Mumbai, Nov. 10 -- The Delhi government has notified the Delhi Slum and Jhuggi Jhopri Relocation and Rehabilitation Policy, 2026, paving the way for permanent housing for an estimated 400,000 to 500,000 families, or nearly 2 mn people, living in slum settlements across the city. The policy provides for eligible beneficiaries to receive one-bedroom, hall and kitchen flats in planned residential complexes.
The complexes will include schools, Anganwadi centres, healthcare facilities and playgrounds, giving the rehabilitation programme a wider community infrastructure component. The policy applies to eligible households in settlements established before January 1, 2025, bringing more families within the scope of the government's rehabilitation measures than under earlier schemes.
The government has prioritised in-situ rehabilitation to reduce disruption to residents' livelihoods and access to essential services. Under the approach, alternative homes are to be provided at the existing settlement or within a 3 km radius wherever possible, while a key safeguard prevents the removal of a slum settlement unless alternative accommodation has been arranged for its occupants.
The policy's stated objective is to provide eligible families with secure and permanent homes rather than limit the exercise to clearing or redeveloping settlements. It also lays down preferential provisions for vulnerable residents and protections concerning household allotments, with the aim of reducing displacement and future disputes.
Families that include persons with disabilities will receive priority for ground-floor flats, subject to certification requirements and availability. Housing units will be allotted jointly to married couples to protect their residential rights. The policy therefore combines eligibility expansion, location-based rehabilitation and preferential allotment provisions within a single framework for relocating and rehousing eligible slum residents.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.