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CASE STUDIES
Some of the generic
characteristics of these
settlements include
incremental nature of
housing, with limited access
to infrastructure facilities OBSERVING
like water supply, sewer and
electricity distribution. The
plots have 100 percent ground
coverage and built from all
sides with the exception of
the front/access road which
is the only means of light and
ventilation. The settlements
are characterised by a narrow
network of roads whose width
varies between 5m (that serve
as thoroughfare through the
colony) to 2m (that serve as
access to residences) which
are shaded by balcony or
bathroom projections that
extend beyond the building
line.
Unauthorized colonies are
different from its other
unplanned counterparts in
terms of legality in the sense
that the transfer of land/ and
property takes place under
General Power of Attorney
(GPA) which, though quasi
legal, is neither recognized
as a legal document in
the transfer of immovable
property nor does it serve as a
proof of ownership. Transfer
of property is not registered
by the Sub-Registrar due to
the ambiguity over ownership
and misuse of agricultural
land. This implies that the
buyers of such properties
are not eligible to avail loans
from the financial institutions
and have to either depend on that part of the city.
their own resources or borrow
from their social network or Table 2: Distribution of
private moneylenders. unauthorized colonies on
private land in Delhi
FOUR Location Number of
UNAUTHORIZED unauthorized
COLONIES IN DELHI colonies
A study was undertaken to North 11
understand the evolution of
such illegal colonies to decode North-East 41
the underlying historic, North-West 22
cultural and physical patterns South 41
and explore the incremental South-West 51
nature of housing which is a East 9
reflection of their changing West 137
needs and ever changing
family sizes. The study also Total 312
focuses on the health effects Source: Unauthorized colonies cell,
due to the lack of light and GNCTD
ventilation, dampness and
termite infestation and The four selected colonies
the level of infrastructure were (1) I.G. Camp, Vikaspuri
provision in these colonies (West Delhi); (2) Nai Basti,
through four case studies in Okhla (South Delhi); (3) Rajbir
Delhi. The study was part of Colony, Gharoli (East Delhi);
a research project funded by and (4) Chandan Vihar, Burari
the Design Innovation Centre (North Delhi). Their locations
(DIC), School of Planning are marked in Figure 2.
Architecture, Delhi
which aimed at developing Figure 2: Location of selected
innovative housing solutions colonies
for low income settlements.
The four colonies described in
this paper were chosen from
312 unauthorised colonies
that are on private land and
were de facto regularised
in 2012. Distribution of the
312 unauthorised colonies
on private land across Delhi
show a higher concentration
in the western part (Table 2) Note: 1) IG Camp (West Delhi), 2)
due to the presence of large Nai Basti (South Delhi) 3) Rajbir
number of factories and Colony (East Delhi), 4) Chandan
migrant workers inhabiting Vihar (North Delhi).
April 2022 Volume 23 No. 1 - SHELTER 81