DDA housing scheme 2017 draw: Dreams come true for some, others to wait for next offer

For some, it was a dream come true. For others, a heartbreak.

The three-hour draw of lots for the Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) 2017 housing scheme on Thursday brought smile on the face of the allottees who were lucky enough to make it to the coveted list of house owners.

But many were left waiting, hoping for a next chance.

Businesswoman Nutan Singh couldn’t control her emotions as she saw her name in the allotees’ list on the projector screen at the waiting hall of Vikas Sadan, DDA’s headquarters near INA. Teary-eyed, she kissed her two-year-old daughter, Bhaviya, who she carried in her lap.

“I am a happy person today. I can say my daughter has a house,” said Singh, who lives with her mother and daughter at a rented house in Dilshad Garden, while flaunting her acknowledgement slip. She got a high-income group (HIG) flat in Rohini. Singh plans to move into the flat as soon as she gets possession.

A total of 12,617 flats offered in the scheme include 11,757 lower-income group (LIG), 403 middle-income group (MIG), 372 Janta and 85 HIG group units.

The flats, which cost between Rs 7 lakh and over Rs 1.26 crore, are located in neighbourhoods across the city such as Rohini, Dwarka, Narela, Vasant Kunj, Jasola, Pitampura, Paschim Vihar and Siraspur.

For Kanishk Saigal, the LIG flat he got would mean an investment for her two daughters. Saigal, a shopkeeper, had shifted to Noida from Pitampura six years ago for want of space.

“This property will help me plan for my daughter’s wedding,” he said. Saigal’s present house in Noida is a rented accommodation. He plans to leave this house and move to the new one he just got in Narela.

Most of the flats in the present scheme were surrendered by allottees in the previous housing schemes due to the small size or inadequate civic facilities.

The authority later said the scheme was launched after the problems were fixed.

Sayyed Alim Hussain, an engineer from Saket, was not as lucky as his friend Adeeb Baig, who got a flat in Dwarka. “I was hopeful but luck favoured my friend this time,” Hussain said. “I will wait for the next scheme,” he said.

Those whose name did not feature in the list of allottees can expect a waiting list, another scheme or can take their money back.

The DDA has to return the money in one month failing which the applicant is eligible to get interest on his deposit.

Shyam Sunder Tuneja, 67, asked four people to check his name till his son informed him on the phone that he had to wait for the next scheme.

“My eyesight is weak and the list displayed on the screen is too small for me to read,” said Tuneja, who lives with his family in Arjun Nagar and was aspiring for a LIG house.