4 million slum dwellers in Delhi to win property rights
Almost 2,000 informal settlements in Delhi are set to be legalised under a new law agreed by the government this week, which ministers said would give more than 4 million residents the right to own their homes in India’s capital.
India’s cabinet this week passed a bill to regularise 1,797 unauthorised slums in the country’s most populous city, giving residents ownership rights at “minimal rates” that would enable them to build and sell properties and take loans.
Mapping is to begin shortly, according to a statement from the ministry of housing and urban affairs, with the bill due to be presented for passage during the next session of parliament from mid-November.
“It will transform the lives of more than 40 lakh (4 million) residents who came to Delhi in search of a better life and livelihood but were forced to live in squalor,” said Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
“Besides providing a legitimate claim to the property, the decision will encourage property holders to invest in safe structures, thereby improving living conditions in these colonies substantially,” he said at a press briefing this week.
The plan to regularise Delhi’s unauthorised settlements had been floated for more than a decade. Most inhabitants are migrant workers from other parts of India who cannot afford regular housing in the city of more than 18 million people.
Under the proposed law, authorities will map the boundaries of the slum areas, and prepare a plan. Residents will have to provide basic documentation and pay a nominal charge to register their property and receive the title, Puri said.
Worldwide, about 1 billion people live in slums and informal settlements. By 2030, 3 billion people will lack access to adequate and affordable housing, according to UN-Habitat, the United Nations’ settlements agency.
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