DDA housing scheme further delayed as forms not ready, to be launched by June-end

The launch of the much-awaited Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA’s) housing scheme offering 13,000 flats has been deferred by a week as brochures and forms are not ready. It is now likely to be rolled out in the last week of this month.

The land owning agency is yet to decide between the two dates — June 23 and June 26. A final announcement will be made after the authority meeting scheduled next week.

“Earlier, we were planning to begin the scheme on June 19 but it seems impossible because brochures are not printed yet. We don’t want last minutes hassles at banks so we are looking forward to a date in the last week of this month,” said JP Agarwal, principal commissioner (housing), DDA.

The official further added that apart from this, all preparations and inspection of the flats to be offered under the scheme has been completed.

“We all are set for the launch. The inspection is done and flats are ready. No glaring discrepancies have been found. Only minor repairing is required that will also be finished before the handover,” Agarwal said.

The land owning agency is offering around 13,000 flats under the scheme, of which 350 are two-room Middle Income Group (MIG) flats, while the rest are either one-bedroom Lower Income Group Flats (LIG) flats or Janta flats.

The agency formed six teams comprising its engineers and independent observers to examine the flats. The decision to carry out an inspection was taken as most of these flats – the LIG and Janta units – are the ones surrendered by people who found them to be too small than what was promised, or the neighbourhoods were underdeveloped — like lack of roads and streetlights and inadequate water supply.

DDA’s vice-chairman Udai Pratap Singh had earlier told HT that punitive action will be taken against the concerned official if any defect is detected in the construction. To ensure effective and transparent exercise, engineers of the same zone have not been included in the teams.

Following the in-principle approval for the housing scheme by the then Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung last year, the agency started renovation of flats and sprucing up infrastructure in and around the colonies.

The authority has also made a special provision for a joint visit of the flat by the allottee and DDA official before the final allotment.