Delhi Slum Rehab Policy 2026 finalised under Amit Shah, houses by Jan 2027
Synopsis
Delhi's slum rehabilitation policy — long promised, rarely delivered — has now been formally finalised under Amit Shah's watch, with an unusually specific deadline: houses in the same localities by 1 January 2027. The monthly PPP tender mandate and the 45-day pilot rollout signal an attempt to move beyond announcement politics into execution — but Delhi's 700-plus JJ clusters make the timeline ambitious.
Key Takeaways
Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the meeting on 17 June 2025 at which the Delhi Slum and JJ Cluster Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy-2026 was finalised.
Residents will be housed in the same areas where they currently live, with a deadline of 1 January 2027 .
At least 5 PPP-based rehabilitation project tenders will be issued every month after the policy is notified.
Work will begin in five slum clusters within 45 days as a pilot phase.
Rehabilitation colonies will include anganwadi centres, schools, health centres, and playgrounds .
The meeting was also attended by Union Minister Manohar Lal and Delhi CM Rekha Gupta .
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, 17 June 2025, chaired a review meeting in New Delhi at which the 'Delhi Slum and JJ Cluster Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy-2026' was finalised, according to Delhi Home and Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood. The policy is aimed at providing dignified housing to millions of families currently living in slums and Jhuggi-Jhopdi (JJ) clusters across the national capital.
What the Policy Promises
Minister Sood confirmed that the government has committed to providing residents with houses in the same areas where they currently live, with a deadline of 1 January 2027. The policy was finalised in the presence of Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, underscoring the coordinated push between the Centre and the Delhi government.
Sood described the decision as 'historic', framing it as a step toward making Delhi 'the capital of a developed India' under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. 'In a developed Delhi, no one will have to reside in slums,' he said in a video message.
Key Implementation Steps
Delhi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is set to formally notify the policy soon to accelerate rehabilitation on the ground. As part of the rollout, tenders for at least 5 PPP-based rehabilitation projects will be issued every month. The rehabilitation colonies will be equipped with essential civic infrastructure, including anganwadi centres, schools, health centres, and playgrounds.
Sood also announced that the government will begin work on the policy in five slum clusters within the next 45 days, signalling an intent to move quickly from announcement to execution.
The Political Context
The policy formalises the BJP's long-standing 'house where there is a jhuggi' resolve, which has been a recurring electoral commitment in Delhi. This comes amid the party's renewed focus on urban poor welfare following its return to power in the Delhi Assembly. Notably, slum rehabilitation in Delhi has been attempted across multiple governments over the past two decades, with limited success in resettling residents without displacing them from their original localities — a concern the new policy explicitly addresses by mandating in-situ housing.
What Happens Next
The formal policy notification is expected shortly, after which monthly PPP tenders will begin. Residents of the five pilot clusters identified for the first 45-day phase will be among the earliest to see ground-level action. The broader target remains housing for all slum dwellers by 1 January 2027 — a timeline that urban planners and civil society groups will watch closely given the scale of Delhi's estimated 700-plus JJ clusters.
Point of View
Which is a departure from the usual open-ended commitments. But the real stress-test is the PPP model: private developers have historically found slum redevelopment financially unviable without generous cross-subsidy, and Delhi's land-title complexity adds another layer. The 45-day pilot will be the first real signal of whether this policy has teeth or joins the long queue of housing announcements that outlasted their ambition.
NationPress
2 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Delhi Slum and JJ Cluster Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy-2026?
It is a housing policy finalised on 17 June 2025 under Union Home Minister Amit Shah, aimed at providing permanent, dignified housing to families living in Delhi's slums and Jhuggi-Jhopdi clusters. The policy commits to resettling residents in the same localities where they currently live, with a deadline of 1 January 2027.
When will Delhi slum residents get houses under the new policy?
According to Delhi Minister Ashish Sood, the government has committed to providing houses by 1 January 2027. Work on five pilot slum clusters is set to begin within 45 days of the announcement.
How will the rehabilitation projects be funded and executed?
The policy relies on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. At least five PPP-based rehabilitation project tenders will be issued every month once the policy is formally notified by the Delhi government.
What facilities will be provided in the new rehabilitation colonies?
The rehabilitation colonies will include essential civic infrastructure such as anganwadi centres, schools, health centres, and playgrounds, according to Minister Sood.
Who was present at the policy finalisation meeting?
The review meeting was chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and was attended by Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, along with Delhi Minister Ashish Sood.
