Delhi Tables Bill to Shift Slum Rehabilitation Cut-Off Date to 2025

The Delhi government on Monday introduced a new bill in the Delhi assembly aimed at advancing the statutory cut-off date for recognising jhuggi jhopri (JJ) clusters by nearly two decades. The legislative initiative seeks to bring newer slum settlements across the city within the ambit of government rehabilitation and redevelopment schemes.

Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood introduced the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the assembly. The bill specifically seeks to amend the DUSIB Act, 2010, which currently governs the legal identification and management of slum clusters in the capital.

The primary change proposed in the bill is the replacement of the existing cut-off date of January 1, 2006, with an updated cut-off date of January 1, 2025. This date is used for formally identifying a slum cluster as an eligible JJ basti under the law.

Under the existing statutory framework of the DUSIB Act, a cluster is eligible to be recognised as a JJ basti if it contains at least 50 households and fulfills other prescribed conditions, including having been in existence as of January 1, 2006.

By moving the cut-off date forward to January 1, 2025, the proposed amendment will extend the statutory eligibility period by 19 years. Settlements established throughout this 19-year period will now fall within the statutory framework, provided they satisfy the standard 50-household threshold.

According to the bill's objectives, the amendment is required to ensure legal consistency between the underlying DUSIB Act and the Delhi Slum and Jhuggi Jhopri Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2026.

The passage of the amendment will establish the required legal foundation for identifying which JJ bastis are eligible for future government rehabilitation and relocation efforts.