The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Tuesday conducted the draw of lots for its housing scheme 2019.
There are 18,000 newly constructed flats on offer under the scheme but only 10,000 were included in the draw. The scheme got a poor response with only 8,400 flats being allotted at the end of the draw. The urban body had received over 45,000 applications for the flats.
Officials said that the reason behind the poor response was due to the little interest the DDA got for its flats in Narela. The scheme, which was launched in March this year, offered flats under various categories in Vasant Kunj and Narela.
‘Avoid scattering’
“The high-income group (HIG) and middle-income group (MIG) flats in Vasant Kunj got good response with around 20 applications for each flat. However, it was not the same for Narela and hence, we decided to limit the number of flats for the draw of lots,” said DDA Vice-Chairman Tarun Kapoor.
Stating that the restriction of the lot for Tuesday’s draw was to avoid “scattering” of people, Mr. Kapoor said: “In the past there have been cases where the allotment has been such that no one block gets occupied completely as people end up getting flats across the society. Later, they end up complaining that either they have no neighbours or that there are other maintenance issues. To avoid such issues, we thought of selecting specific blocks instead of opening up all the blocks.”
Meanwhile, to tackle the low response received for the flats under the economically weaker section (EWS), the DDA will offer the flats once again at a reduced rate.
40% discount
“There will be a drastic reduction in the price of the EWS flats as a 40% discount will be given. The DDA will waive the cost of construction that is usually included in the price. Those who have already applied for the EWS flats will have to pay the reduced prices only,” said Mr. Kapoor.
However, the DDA is still mulling over steps to be taken for the low-income group (LIG) flats that also saw a poor response.
“The response to the LIG flats is a bit disappointing but we will take a call on what to do next soon. While the flats are good in Narela, access is an issue. We are trying to get business into Narela and trying to undertake a redevelopment project there. Once people start working in the area, apprehensions about living and travelling to Narela will hopefully reduce,” added Mr. Kapoor.