DDA lines up housing bonanza for Capital

Your wait for a house in Delhi for an affordable price might soon be over.

After a gap of over a year, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is gearing up to launch its biggest housing schemes since 2004 in July. About 6,000 one- and two-bedroom flats will be on offer, officials said.

Though the final cost of the flats is yet to be fixed, senior officials of the civic agency said it would vary between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 22 lakh, depending on the locality and the carpet area. The majority of the flats are located in north and southwest areas like Narela, Vasant Kunj, Dwarka, Rohini, Shalimar Bagh and Bakkarwala.

“We will announce the launch of the housing scheme shortly. Various modalities like the price of the flats etc. are being finalised,” said a DDA spokesperson.

The registration amount of the flats will be Rs 1.5 lakh and the DDA would allot the flats through draw of lots.

DDA officials said the final prices would be affordable compared to the market rates. “A two-bedroom flat in areas like Dwarka, Rohini or Indirapuram in Ghaziabad is being sold between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 35 lakh. The DDA prices are quite reasonable,” said an official.

Real estate experts agree. “DDA continues to be a big draw as far as providing affordable houses are concerned. Flats built by private developers are costly as the latter has to differentiate his product by offering a variety of amenities like power backup, gardens, etc. Also, the developer has to pay land cost,” said Sahel Pramendra of real-estate consultancy firm Jones Lang La Salle Meghraj.

In 2006, DDA had received 1,90,000 applications for a housing scheme for 3,500 flats. It had priced 66 three-bedroom flats in central Delhi’s Motia Khan between a record Rs 49.5 lakh and Rs 55.8 lakh. The price of the remaining three-bedroom flats in Sarita Vihar and Dwarka was between Rs 30.8 lakh and Rs 46.1 lakh.