Two months after 189 families from Madrasi Camp in Jangpura were relocated to Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flats in Narela due to the demolition of their slum cluster, fewer than 10 families have remained in their new homes, which they describe as “unsuitable, unsafe, and too far” from their workplaces.
T. Ulaganathan, 37, a former resident of Madrasi Camp, is one of the few who has stayed on in his allotted flat in Narela, over 40 km away from the camp. Showing over 50 house keys his neighbours had deposited with him, Mr. Ulaganathan said, “These belong to those house owners who never moved in or left within weeks. Relocation to Narela has affected our earnings, disrupted children’s schooling and taken us away from a community that we built over decades.”
Mr. Ulaganathan said most of his neighbours have moved into apartments near Jangpura and are paying a monthly rent in the range of ₹7,000-₹15,000 to stay close to their work sites.
On June 15, the DDA demolished 370 houses in the Madrasi Camp jhuggi-jhopri cluster following an order from the Delhi High Court. Of the affected, 189 families were allocated Economically Weaker Section (EWS) flats in Narela under the Delhi Slum and Jhuggi Jhopri Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy of 2015, on a 99-year lease.
However, many relocated residents in Narela have found it challenging to reach their workplaces due to the long distance and poor transportation connectivity.
Said Murugan, 31, who works in a shoe store in Jangpura,“My wife, who is a domestic worker, and I leave home at dawn to catch a bus and return to Narela at 11 p.m. If we miss the bus, the autorickshaw fare is around ₹400.”
Safety is another concern for the residents of Narela. Meena Devi, 52, who lives alone in her allocated flat, mentioned that she has spent over ₹35,000 to install grills and fences due to multiple theft incidents, particularly involving electric wires, in the area. “My sons and their families rented apartments in Nizamuddin [in south Delhi] because there is no work in Narela,” said Ms. Devi. She also regretted losing her community and support system at the camp where she grew up. “Now I’m all alone. I can barely speak Hindi, and have no one to share meals with. We had shared kitchens at the camp,” she said.
Language barrier
Murugesan, who is the head of the camp association – nattamai panchayat – said relocation without support is “futile”. “Unless the government ensures Tamil-language schools and job opportunities near Narela, the flats will remain empty,” he said.
The children at the camp were enrolled in the Delhi Tamil Education Association’s (DTEA) Lodhi Estate school for a fee of ₹250 per month, where they were taught Tamil along with English and Hindi.
K. Lakshman, 34, had rented a house in Ashram to keep his 11-year-old son’s education at the DTEA going. “Even if I send my son to a school in Narela, he won’t be able to adjust. The schools at Narela are either English or Hindi medium,” he said.
Mr. Ulaganathan is worried that he also might have to move back to a locality near the camp soon. “My children have been out of [DTEA] school for two months. I cannot afford to wait longer,” he said.
He is still paying an EMI of ₹7,138 per month for the bank loan he took to build his now-razed house in the camp. “My wife, my niece and I have been jobless for two months now.”
“In Narela, there’s no such work,” said Mr. Ulaganathan. “An oil company offers 12-13 hour shifts to load and unload cans with no breaks, and at wages lower than the minimum, unlike my previous job as a cleaner with the Railways, which was close to the camp and where I earned more,” he added.
His niece S. Abhinaya, 21, used to work in a Noida call centre. “I was used to sending money to my parents. Here, all that’s available are factory jobs paying ₹10,000 a month in 12-hour shifts. I haven’t worked since we moved out of the camp,” said Ms. Abhinaya.
Published – August 29, 2025 01:30 am IST
