Delhi launches PPP slum rehab policy, redevelopment of 17 clusters begins

The Delhi government has notified its 2026 slum rehabilitation policy and initiated the process for redeveloping 17 jhuggi-jhopri settlements in Seelampur, Sultanpuri and Lajpat Nagar into three high-rise residential colonies under a Public-Private Partnership model. The settlements comprise 4,870 shanties. Under the policy, private developers will construct rehabilitation housing in exchange for development rights over commercially valuable portions of the land, a departure from the 2015 policy where the government was the principal implementing agency.

The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board will engage a private agency to conduct feasibility studies for the three sites, with bids already invited for transaction advisors. The study is expected to be completed within four months. Separately, the Delhi Assembly recently passed a law shifting the cut-off for recognising slum clusters from January 1, 2006 to January 1, 2025, which the Centre says could benefit about four lakh families. However, The Hindu editorial notes that courts have required meaningful engagement and that rehabilitation should prioritise keeping residents near their livelihoods, arguing for an ‘in-situ first, relocation last’ rule.