New Delhi, Jan 28 (PTI) Aimed at preventing encroachment and unlocking space for future welfare projects, the Delhi government has decided to spend over Rs 100 crore to identify and protect around 900 acres of land belonging to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) across the national capital.
An official told PTI that around Rs 100 crore has been allocated as grant-in-aid to map DUSIB land parcels and construct boundary walls to safeguard them which will help the government clearly demarcate its holdings and ensure they remain free from any encroachment.
Once secured, the land will be utilised by the board for its upcoming projects, while the government may also deploy some of the plots for broader public infrastructure needs, the official said.
He added that several projects had remained on hold in the past due to the lack of accessible land and insufficient funds for protection measures, a gap the current allocation aims to address.
As part of its expansion plans, DUSIB is preparing to construct 12 permanent night shelter homes and new Jan Suvidha Complexes across the city this year, all of which are currently in the pipeline, the official said.
Each of the proposed night shelters will have a capacity of around 500 people, significantly increasing accommodation for the urban homeless, he said, adding that the upcoming public convenience complexes will include dedicated bathrooms for women, a facility that was missing in many existing structures.
At present, Delhi has 64 permanent night shelters with capacities exceeding 200 persons each, along with around 673 Jan Suvidha Complexes that provide community sanitation services in slum clusters and informal settlements.
Sanitation facilities in these areas have largely taken the form of large community toilets operated by the Slum Wing, with Jan Suvidha Complexes forming the backbone of public hygiene infrastructure.
The renewed focus on land protection and shelter development comes alongside a broader push by the city government to improve living conditions in the jhuggi-jhopri (JJ) clusters and low-income neighbourhoods.
On Republic Day, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated development projects worth Rs 327 crore in JJ clusters and announced an additional allocation of Rs 144 crore for various welfare initiatives.
Under public convenience infrastructure, an administrative approval of Rs 225 crore has been granted for 476 works, according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office. Of these, projects worth Rs 81 crore covering 214 works have already been awarded.
The government had also sharply increased budgetary support for DUSIB in the 2025-26 financial year, signalling a stronger emphasis on slum redevelopment and urban poor services.
While presenting the Budget in March last year, Gupta announced an allocation of Rs 696 crore for DUSIB — a 157 per cent rise compared to the previous year — to fund housing, sanitation and basic infrastructure improvements in slums and JJ colonies.
The Budget further proposed Rs 230 crore for critical infrastructure works such as footpaths, drains, toilets and maintenance services, up from Rs 42 crore last year, with special focus on creating safe and accessible bathrooms for women in underserved areas.
The official added that the combined measures are expected to strengthen DUSIB’s capacity to protect public land while accelerating long-pending projects aimed at improving hygiene, shelter and basic amenities for Delhi’s urban poor. PTI SHB SHB KSS KSS
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.