"Rehabilitation must restore an urban life, not merely allot a flat." Examine this in the context of slum resettlement policy in Indian metros.

Delhi's Cluster Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2026 moves the eligibility cut-off to 1 January 2025, covering about 4 lakh families [1]. Widening eligibility is only half the task. National data show that building a flat is not the same as rehousing a family. Rehabilitation works only when it keeps a household's livelihood, services and social networks intact.

Why the statement holds: shelter is tied to livelihood

• Olga Tellis (Supreme Court) read the right to livelihood into Article 21. Moving people to the city's edge cuts them off from informal work.
• Peripheral relocation also breaks access to schools, care networks and neighbours. Women and informal workers lose the most.
• The Delhi High Court in Sudama Singh and Ajay Maken required surveys and meaningful engagement before demolition. Residents are rights-holders, not encroachers.

Evidence: flats without urban life stay empty

• By December 2024 only 37% of sanctioned ISSR houses were complete, and only 30% of those were occupied [2].
• The Standing Committee on Housing (2024) blamed incomplete infrastructure, houses not being allotted, and allottees unwilling to move in [2].
• PMAY-U spent on average 34% less than its budget between 2017-18 and 2025-26 [2]. This lengthens the wait between demolition and a usable home.

Policy design gaps in metros

• Cut-off dates and paperwork: every new date leaves out a new group, and paperwork tests penalise renters and migrants.
• Finance: ISSR uses land as a resource through PPP [3], with central aid of only up to ₹1 lakh per house [4]. Kalkaji cost about ₹345 crore for 3,024 flats, roughly ₹11 lakh per flat [5]. Where land is cheap, developers stay away. Mumbai's builder-led model shows how this pushes states towards relocation.
• Fragmented agencies: DDA (Centre) and DUSIB (Delhi) share responsibility, which blurs accountability.

Way forward

• Make "in-situ first, relocation last" an enforceable rule, and keep any relocation within reach of residents' jobs.
• No demolition until a serviced home is ready, with water, transport, schools and health care working from day one. MoHUA could link its final instalment to occupancy.
• Build a single survey-based register open to public objections, and offer rental housing (ARHC) to later arrivals.
• Name one accountable agency per cluster, with deadlines for each step.

Success should be measured by flats lived in and livelihoods kept, not units handed over. Kalkaji, Delhi's first in-situ project [5], shows that redevelopment on the same site is possible. Built around urban life, it can turn Article 21's promise of dignified shelter into reality and advance SDG 11.