DDA plans housing bonanza for Capital

The tendering for the first lot — 40,000 flats meant for the economically weaker sections (EWS) and lower income group — will begin in October or November.

“To meet the acute housing shortage,the DDA is embarking on the construction of 40,000 dwellings,” said Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy. “The tender documents are ready and the construction will be fast,with the adoption of pre-fabricated technology.”

The first lot of around 8,000 flats will be ready by mid-2011 and they will be distributed by a lottery system. These flats will be located around Dwarka,Rohini and

Narela and are likely to cost between Rs 10-15 lakh,an official said.

Simultaneously,the Authority will take up the construction of another 10,000 flats for the middle income group.

“The tendering for middle income group flats will begin two months after the tendering for houses for economically weaker sections and the lower income groups,” said an official. The flats could cost around Rs 30 lakh and may be located in areas like Vasant Kunj. The DDA has already finalised the locations,but the official refused to share further details.

Another 15,000 flats under various housing projects — the construction of which is already underway — will be ready by 2011,Reddy said. These flats,which will be available in phases starting from 2009,are meant for economically weaker sections,the lower and the middle income groups.

The minister promised that every year,starting 2009,around 10,000 flats will be completed and allotted to the public.

With regard to slum development,the Authority will undertake the rehabilitation of 23 slum and jhuggi-jhopri clusters in the next five years.

“We will try to build around 47,500 dwelling units of 25 square meters under a public-private partnership model,” Reddy said. The land presently occupied by the slum-dwellers will be made available to developers. “They will construct EWS houses in accordance with the number identified by the DDA,so that slum-dwellers can be given apartments in multi-storeyed buildings,” Reddy said.

The houses will be constructed on part of the land and the developer will be allowed to use the rest for commercial purposes.

Centre’s nod for Masterplan soon
The Union Urban Development Minister,Jaipal Reddy,said on Monday that the Centre will soon clear the Delhi Masterplan. “The plan envisages involvement of private sector,for the first time,in land development and provision of infrastructure services. We need to finalise the zonal plans in next few months,so that the features of the Masterplan can be visualised,” Reddy said.