{"id":350145,"date":"2024-09-16T01:50:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T07:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/?p=350145"},"modified":"2024-09-16T06:56:52","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T12:26:52","slug":"shelter-for-slum-dwellers-a-dream-marred-by-corruption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/shelter-for-slum-dwellers-a-dream-marred-by-corruption\/","title":{"rendered":"Shelter for Slum Dwellers: A Dream Marred by Corruption"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has found itself at the center of controversy once again, accused of turning a blind eye as housing units designated for the city\u2019s poorest are misappropriated by the wealthy. The scheme in question, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 2, 2022, promised over 3,000 flats in Kalkaji Extension as part of the DDA\u2019s \u201cin situ slum rehabilitation project.\u201d Yet, despite the high-profile launch, many residents from Bhoomiheen, Navjeevan, and Jawahar Camps remain without homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tehelka\u2019s Special Investigation Team has exposed a troubling pattern of corruption involving middlemen and unscrupulous officials. These individuals have exploited the system, illegally selling flats intended for the underprivileged to affluent buyers. Our cover story, \u201cThe Housing Scam,\u201d reveals how the ambitious scheme has failed, leaving many of the most vulnerable still facing harsh living conditions \u2014 exposed to severe winters, sweltering summers, and relentless rains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to HUDCO\u2019s guidelines on Affordable Housing, a dwelling should cost no more than five times a household’s annual income, with monthly rent or EMI capped at 30 percent of gross monthly income. The DDA’s initiative was designed with these principles in mind, but just two years after the PM\u2019s inauguration, fraudsters have hijacked the project. Flats, initially priced at a subsidized Rs 1.24 lakh each, are being resold to the wealthy through fraudulent means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our investigation uncovered that these 25-square-meter flats in 14-story high-rises, which were never meant for sale, were provided to beneficiaries for only Rs 1.24 lakh each, with the remaining cost covered by the DDA. However, middlemen allegedly sell the flats to affluent buyers \u2014 most of whom already own homes in Delhi \u2014 using fake slum addresses. One middleman, recorded on hidden camera, proudly declared, \u201cThese flats are for slum dwellers, but I\u2019ll create documents to show you lived in a slum before 2005. The government won\u2019t check, so it will be undetectable.\u201d Another admitted to selling ten such flats to wealthy clients through fabricated documents, including the \u201cRed Paper,\u201d a government-issued document that falsely certifies eligibility for the flats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activists argue that the Delhi government\u2019s inaction is due to the issue being considered a \u201cCentre\u2019s subject,\u201d but this cannot be an excuse for inaction. The DDA must step up, enforce stringent regulations, and ensure accountability to bridge the gap between the project’s lofty promises and its flawed execution. Immediate intervention is crucial to prevent further exploitation and to provide the justice that the city\u2019s most vulnerable residents desperately deserve. It seems that the government has its heart at the right place given an extension of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) till December 2024 but existing loopholes in providing a roof over the heads of the poorest of the poor must be removed. It\u2019s time to bridge the gaps between a utopian idea and its fructification.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has found itself at the center of controversy once again, accused of turning a blind eye as housing units designated for the city\u2019s poorest are misappropriated by the wealthy. The scheme in question, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 2, 2022, promised over 3,000 flats in Kalkaji Extension […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":350146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2205],"tags":[17758,16151,18229,17757,16183,18617],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350145"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350145"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350145\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":350147,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350145\/revisions\/350147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/350146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}