3 min readMar 11, 2026 10:56 AM IST
Everyone living in the three slum clusters on Race Course Road near the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi will be rehabilitated, the Centre told the Delhi High Court on Tuesday as the court heard a petition challenging the eviction of slum dwellers and demolition of the jhuggi and jhopdi (JJ) clusters.
The Centre, the HC was told, has “taken a conscious decision that there will be no resident deemed to be eligible or not eligible” for rehabilitation, and in fact, “all will be eligible”.
In February, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs’ (MoHUA) Land and Development Office (L&DO) had issued notices to residents of the three JJ clusters — Bhai Ram Camp, Masjid Camp, and DID Camp — on Race Course Road, situated adjacent to the Delhi Race Club and Jaipur Polo Ground, to vacate the premises. However, a petition was moved the same month by over 300 residents of the Bhai Ram camp in the High Court, seeking quashing of the notice “and/or allotment” of alternative accommodation at a “nearby place”.
On Tuesday, the HC granted the slum dwellers relief from evicting their premises at Bhai Ram camp till the next hearing on March 16.
The slum dwellers of the three slum clusters, according to the authorities, are being rehabilitated nearly 45 km away in the village of Savda Ghevra. Apart from expressing concern over losing their livelihood due to the distance, the residents have complained that basic amenities are also lacking at the site. The petitioners’ counsel on Tuesday also told the High Court that the alternative accommodation is in “extremely poor condition”.
The Centre, represented by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma orally admitted before the court, “Yes, (the) distance is a problem, but we don’t have land (in the vicinity of Race Course road).”
In an affidavit filed on Monday, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) had submitted that a total of 555 jhuggi units have been identified at one cluster of Bhai Ram Camp and have been offered flats at Savda Ghevra.
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DUSIB also dismissed the concerns on the inhabitable conditions of the Savda Ghevra flats, submitting that of the 3,560 flats for economically weaker section (EWS), it is “already hosting pre-existing 218 families” and “thus the said housing project is well populated and already operational since long.” It emphasised that the alternative accommodation being provided to the dwellers “is fully habitable and with amenities.”
Listing the multiple amenities available at the EWS housing premises at Savda Ghevra, DUSIB said that it has a sewer line, “temporarily connected with the septic tank” as sewerage treatment plant “is underconstruction”; and that it has a water line and functional underground reservoir, connected with the Delhi Jal Board’s water line, an MCD ‘dhalao ghar’ and “well-developed parks and roads”.
As on date, according to the DUSIB, 113 JJ dwellers of Bhai Ram Camp have accepted the allotment letters, as have 36 such dwellers from the Masjid camp and 27 others from the DID camp.
The Delhi HC granted the petitioners time to respond to DUSIB’s contentions by March 16 when the next hearing is due.
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- Allotment letters for Savda Ghevra EWS flats taken by
- 113 dwellers from Bhai Ram Camp
- 36 dwellers from Masjid camp
- 27 dwellers from DID camp
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