Lakshmi was born and raised in a family of performers in the now-razed Kathputli Colony in west Delhi’s Shadipur. She was 19 when her family moved from the ‘magicians’ ghetto’, as Salman Rushdie described the settlement in Midnight’s Children, into porta cabins set up on a hillock named Anand Parbat about 3 km away. The arrangement was supposed to be temporary.
Her family was among the 4,000 displaced between 2014 and 2017 after the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) entered into an in situ slum rehabilitation agreement with private builder Raheja Developers. It was the first time the urban body had signed an agreement for such a project under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
As per the terms, the developer was to hand over 2,800 Economically Weaker Section (EWS) flats, along with all basic facilities, on around 60% of the 12.89 acres of land to the authority free of cost, and receive the remaining 40% for remunerative housing to sell in the open market and for commercial complexes. Of the remaining families, 492 were allotted flats in Narela while others were deemed ineligible for resettlement. The contract also held the developer responsible for meeting the basic civic expenses at the temporary camp.
The DDA has not entered into another PPP in situ redevelopment project since. However, the model is now set to be adopted under the Delhi Slum and JJ Cluster Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2026 announced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on June 16. Under the policy, which is yet to be notified, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board is the nodal agency for works carried out on Delhi government land.
Ms. Lakshmi is now 31 and lives with seven members of her family, including her children, in two one-room porta cabins, with no sign yet of the promised flats. “When we came here in 2014, we were told the arrangement was only for two years. After that, the deadline kept getting pushed. Sometimes they said Deepavali, then the new year, and so on,” she said.
“The last I heard, we were supposed to move into the flats in May this year. We have lost all hope,” Ms. Lakshmi said.
Upon entering the transit camp at Anand Parbat, one is immediately confronted by open drains carrying human faeces, mounds of garbage, and a water tanker that residents say they are forced to rely on because the tap water is unfit for consumption.
In double bind
The residents here are trapped in a double bind. They cannot move out of their visibly worn-out plywood rooms because as per the terms of the contract, if any family is found not residing at the transit camp during random inspections by the DDA or the developer, their names can be struck off the beneficiaries’ list.
Her family of dhol players had plenty of work to sustain their livelihoods before moving to Anand Parbat, Ms. Lakshmi said.
“Our work continued through all seasons. People used to come looking for artistes and performers in Kathputli Colony. Now, we have to find them,” she added.
When reached for comment, the DDA and Raheja Developers did not respond.
Prakash Bhatt, a 58-year-old puppeteer, quotes from the folklore Veer Amar Singh Rathore to describe the hopelessness of the families at Anand Parbat: “Che mahine ka vaada karke saal bhar naa aaye (After promising to return in six months, you didn’t even show up in a year).”
Another generational puppeteer, Puran Bhatt, said his work has been severely affected. His family moved to Delhi from Rajasthan over six decades ago. He has performed in 30 countries, all before moving to the transit camp. “Since our address changed, nobody knows where we live,” he said.
Buildings under construction at the now-razed Kathputli Colony.
| Photo Credit:
SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
‘No clear deadline’
When The Hindu visited the construction site in Shadipur, work appeared to have been paused.
Several yellow-painted EWS towers stood in the compound beside others still under construction, including a commercial complex.
A site engineer, who did not wish to be identified, said work has not resumed for nearly seven months, even after pollution-related restrictions were lifted. The site manager said the work had been paused due to “procedural hurdles”.
Published – June 30, 2026 12:20 am IST
