Amid uncertainty and missing basics, evicted families arrive at Savda Ghevra

New Delhi: Manisha, 38, has spent the past four years cooped up inside her allotted flat in the DUSIB-run Savda Ghevra resettlement colony with her four children, while her husband continues to stay in east Delhi to save on commuting costs. Her youngest child, aged just four, sleeps through the sweltering heat as the AC has stopped working “due to fluctuations of voltage” — a routine problem in the colony that is now preparing to receive a fresh deluge of evicted families from 11 Delhi colonies.A total of 717 flats in the resettlement hub, already cut off from markets and basic amenities, have been earmarked for relocation despite many lacking electricity meters and water supply. Workers were seen installing meters at the site, yet, several soon-to-be residents remain sceptical that the arrangements will be completed before May 26 — the deadline set by Delhi High Court for allottees to move in. The court had on May 12 cleared the relocation process and finalised the evictions.Asked about the preparations for the incoming residents, a DUSIB official maintained that arrangements were already in place. According to the official, families are required to pay Rs 30,000 towards maintenance charges covering the next five years. On electricity connections, the official said, “About 200 families had applied for meters, and so far, most of them have been set up.” Regarding water supply, the official stated pipelines had already been laid. “If there’s any shortage, each compound has been equipped with a motor to draw water,” he added.However, during TOI’s visit, 60-year-old Amar Singh (name changed for anonymity), relocated from Masjid Camp near the PM’s residence at Lok Kalyan Marg, was seen hauling buckets of water up to his allotted fifth-floor flat so the toilet could be made usable. Singh said it was his father who had first settled there in 1958 while helping lay railway tracks in the city. Over the years, Singh built a small business, eventually amassing enough amount to plan his son’s marriage. “I had just built a home for us in 2023, and now I had to move out as we were served notices,” he said, as his wife swept the yet-to-be-smoothened cement floor.For longtime residents like Manisha, however, such hardships are hardly new. From the lack of last-mile connectivity to the nearest metro station at Ghevra, located about 3km away, to the absence of schools and medical clinics within nearly a 4km radius, daily life inside the colony has long revolved around compromise. The nearest medical facility, Ghevra’s Arogya Mandir, is also located about 3km away. Residents said even delivery applications serviced the colony only until about a year ago before gradually discontinuing operations beyond the periphery of Ghevra. For many families, that meant losing one of the few accessible options for day-to-day necessities.Outside one of the blocks, Anush, a young boy whose family had moved from the Janakpuri slum cluster to the third floor in 2023, pointed to another issue: “Security remains a larger concern as many of these flats remain vacated, giving a wide avenue for the thieves to come inside.”Residents claimed that missing bicycles are common, and in some flats, entire electrical wirings have been stripped away. “If the flats are allotted to someone, they might have to start over by spending between Rs 15,000 just for wiring,” said Manisha, pointing to an adjacent room left without switches or wires.Operational since 2006, Savda Ghevra has been home to over 30 slum clusters like Yamuna Pushta, Nagla Machi and Nizamuddin Bawri, designed to shelter families displaced from slums. For many labourer families now beginning to move into the flats, finances are already stretched amid rising energy costs, with some having set up makeshift chulhas to manage daily cooking.Having left behind homes and welfare benefits such as ration cards linked to their previous addresses, many residents said their most immediate concern is basic security. “They have provided parks for each compound, but not enough lighting for children’s safety. It’s dangerous for them, especially at night, with pits dug up across the area,” said a resident.The uncertainty for newly-arriving families is compounded by confusion and the pressure of time, especially amid what many described as a lack of logistical assistance. In the scorching summer heat, several families were seen wandering through the maze-like housing blocks trying to locate their allotted flats. “I was told to collect a card first from the guard, but when I approached him, he was clueless about what he should be issuing,” said an allottee.Amid the confusion, families are scrambling to make their soon-to-be homes habitable, leaving many to navigate an unfamiliar settlement while struggling to secure the bare essentials of daily life.