DDA Carried Out 1,116 Demolition Drives in Three Years, Reclaimed Over 2,700 Acres in Delhi

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) conducted around 1,116 demolition drives across the National Capital Territory over the past three years, reclaiming nearly 2,719 acres of encroached land, the Centre informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Responding to a question by Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu said the reclaimed land included government land, footpaths, agricultural land, green areas, boundary walls, roadside parking spaces, temporary sheds, shops and areas occupied by street hawkers.

The government said notices were issued or pasted at demolition sites before the drives were carried out, in accordance with existing rules and court orders. It added that rehabilitation of eligible beneficiaries was undertaken under the Delhi Slums and Jhuggi Jhopri Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015.

According to the reply, 1,800 families from Bhoomiheen Camp in Govindpuri were rehabilitated and allotted Economically Weaker Section (EWS) flats at Kalkaji Extension, subject to eligibility criteria. Another 1,360 families from slum clusters at Jailor Wala Bagh, Mata Jai Kaur and Golden Park were rehabilitated at Swabhiman Apartments in Ashok Vihar.

The Engineering Wing of the DDA conducted 600 demolition drives between 2023-24 and 2025-26, reclaiming around 58.47 lakh square metres of land, equivalent to nearly 1,445 acres. Dwarka recorded the highest number of drives at 260, followed by East Delhi with 206. However, East Delhi accounted for the largest area reclaimed, at over 53.34 lakh square metres.

The DDA’s Land Management Department separately carried out 516 demolition drives during 2023-2025, reclaiming approximately 1,274 acres of land.