With poor safety standards and faulty construction plan, housing complex in Sector 38 (West) has turned into an ‘organised’ slum

Within a month of occupying the new flats under the much-hyped Slum Rehabilitation Scheme in Sector 38 (West), problems for the residents have surfaced. From basic amenities to a faulty construction plan, everything presents a grim picture of the residential complex.

The administration had claimed that every flat had been equipped with basic necessary amenities to change the life and outlook of these disadvantaged families but the conditions in which the inhabitants are living highlight the hollow promises made by the Administration.

The mere view of the housing complex gives an impression of another slum though in a much organised manner — each unit stacked one over the other. The one-room unit, comprising four floors with 64 houses in each block, face back to back. The complex comprises of a total of eight similar blocks where safety and security is a major concern of the allottees.

“It seems that the administration just wanted to win laurels for allotting us these units. Owing to the low height of the balcony boundary wall, which is not more than three feet, a 13 year-old-boy lost his life last week. Even if we want to, we cannot even raise the walls for our own safety,” said a resident.

Lack of planning is the first thing one notices as one enters a flat. In the one-room unit, there is no separate provision for kitchen. “In the absence of any minimal arrangements for kitchen, most of us have spent around Rs 15 thousand to make concrete slabs,” said Kamla Devi, one of the allottees.

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