The process of shifting slum dwellers from Kathputli Colony in west Delhi has been started for the in-situ development of the area.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) plans to first relocate the slum dwellers to a transit accommodation in nearby Anand Parbat and later rehabilitate them back to multi-storey buildings that will come up in Kathputli Colony.

“The permission to relocate the slum dwellers was given in the authority’s meeting on Monday. The shifting process has begun and they would be relocated to temporary porta cabins installed in the Anand Parbat area,” said a senior DDA official.

The slum dwellers would be shifted in batches and in the first batch 2,754 residents of Kathputli Colony would be relocated to the transit accommodation. The dwellings vacated by them will be demolished.

Kathputli Colony is an unauthorised area that came up as an encroachment on 5.22 hectares of land which is meant for mixed use. DDA is developing in-situ projects through Public Private Partnership mode. Kathputli Colony is going to be the first such project in the city, followed by similar in-site development in Pocket A-14, Kalkaji Extension, where 8,000 people would be rehabilitated.

The multi-storey buildings are being built by a private developer and the project includes a remunerative component whereby the developer would be able to use some part of the project commercially.Construction work in Kathputli Colony area would be completed only after the slum dwellers vacate the area.

At Kalkaji Extension, which is being developed solely by DDA, the area would be developed in lots simultaneously without the need to relocate the residents as vacant land is available.

“We are building high rises at these places because going vertical is the only way to accommodate large number of people,” he said.

“After Kathputli Colony and Kalkaji Extension, we plan to carry out similar in-situ development projects in other parts of the city,” he said.