Delhi HC questions moving 700 families to Savda Ghera when 24,000 flats lie vacant

On Monday, the Delhi High Court questioned the Central and Delhi governments over their decision to relocate more than 700 slum families living near the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi to Savda Ghera, located 45 kilometres away, instead of utilizing over 24,000 vacant rehabilitation flats nearby.

A division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia raised the queries while hearing appeals against the eviction of residents from three slum clusters located near the Prime Minister's residence. The bench demanded answers from both the Central and Delhi state governments regarding the current status of 24,284 housing units built in 2024, which are currently lying in various states of disrepair and disuse.

The court criticized the plan to move the families so far from their current homes when local housing is available. The judges noted that the Central and state governments had jointly spent nearly Rs 2,000 crore on the unused housing project.

"Shifting aged inhabitants 45km away when accommodation is available nearby, should it not be examined? This element of arbitrariness has to be checked... who is responsible for these houses lying vacant?" the bench orally observed during the hearing.

The counsel representing the slum dwellers highlighted that the Delhi government had previously declared the construction of more than 24,000 houses. These units were built out of a planned total of more than 50,000 homes intended to rehabilitate eligible individuals evicted from government-owned land.

The High Court questioned the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) over its silence regarding these unused flats. The bench ordered DUSIB to file a comprehensive report detailing the location, condition, and occupancy status of the vacant housing units.

"If this is not squandering public money, what else is? We will fix responsibility," the bench warned.