NEW DELHI: Even four and a half years after the launch of the Prime Minister’s Unauthorised Colonies in Delhi Awas Adhikar Yojana (PM-UDAY), there has been no major surge in the number of beneficiaries with the people’s response to the scheme remaining lukewarm.
Responding to questions raised by South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri in Parliament, the Union housing and urban affairs minister said on July 25 that of the 1,22,729 applications received under PM-UDAY, only 23,811 were granted ownership rights, the highest being in Najafgarh, Nangloi, Burari and Kakrola.
Given that approximately 30% of Delhi’s population resides in 1,737 unauthorised colonies, this number is significantly low, pointed out experts. Residents themselves said there were obstacles that had to be addressed in order to improve the scheme’s effectiveness and increase participation.
The scheme was launched in 2019 by Delhi Development Authority to provide property ownership rights to residents of unauthorised colonies or slums. As of March 1 this year, 4.8 people had registered with DDA under the scheme, but not even half of them had submitted applications for ownership rights and only 22,034 individuals were granted conveyance deeds.
Till date, there has been no major change in the situation. When asked about this, Bidhuri said that it was important that the layout plans of the unauthorised colonies were prepared on priority so that the building plans could be quickly approved. “Till such a time, individuals who have been issued ownership rights should be allowed to reconstruct their houses as per the building bylaws. DDA should also hold regular meetings with residents to understand their problems and accelerate response to the scheme,” he said.
Sushil Chaddha, a resident of Chandra Vihar, Nilothi, said, “People are still facing hurdles in fulfilling the terms and conditions of the scheme, such as attaching the power of attorney. Difficulties arise when these are old. Also, even after getting ownership rights under the scheme, getting a loan from nationalised banks for reconstruction and getting a building plan approved are challenges. Loans offered by private banks have very high interest.”
Chaddha added, “People are also reluctant about incurring extra expenses involved in the process, which is around Rs 60,000 for a 50 sq yard property and Rs 1 lakh for a 100 sq yard one. Moreover, one has to go to Vikas Sadan to pursue the matter. Ideally, the facility should have been started in zonal offices.”
Than Singh Yadav of Delhi Dehat Sangh said that getting new electricity and water connections was no longer a simple task. “If two families, say of two brothers, are living in the same house with one entrance in an unauthorised colony, then DJB does not permit two connections. Further, a no-objection certificate from DDA is mandatory before applying for new electricity and water connections, which in itself is a herculean task to get,” said Yadav.
DDA officials claimed that they are organising camps in unauthorised colonies regularly to resolve or address the queries of the people. “We are also distributing brochures detailing the procedure and benefits of the scheme. Additional staff, referred to as PMUday-Mitra, have been deployed to promote the scheme and assist residents in unauthorised colonies with their application-related issues. The application form has been simplified and made concise. The online portal has been made bilingual,” said an official. Public hearings are also conducted at DDA headquarters and 10 processing centres to provide hand-holding support to the residents in application processing besides regular monitoring, claimed the agency.
