DDA scheme: Buyers can now visit sample flats

The sample flats, DDA officials say, will give people an idea of their actual size . “We are preparing sample flats in all the four categories.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the capital’s biggest landlord, is making a special effort to ensure that its new housing scheme, launched on March 7, is a success. DDA has on offer sample flats in all four categories for potential buyers to visit before they decide to buy. And it’s even laying out a special bus service from the nearest metro station to outer Delhi’s Narela, one of the two neighbourhoods where the flats are on offer.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the capital’s biggest landlord, is making a special effort to ensure that its new housing scheme, launched on March 7, is a success. (Pradeep Gaur/ Mint)

The land-owning agency will start the online application process for 18,000 flats — 450 in the High Income Group (HIG), 1,550 in the Middle Income group (MIG), 8,300 in the Low Income Group (LIG) and 7,700 in the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category — in Narela and Vasant Kunj from March 25.

The sample flats, DDA officials say, will give people an idea of their actual size . “We are preparing sample flats in all the four categories. We will have our staff to answer all the queries between 9am and 5pm on all days, including weekends. We will also provide their contact numbers in case people have any query,” a senior DDA official said on condition of anonymity.

DDA officials say it is the first time that the agency is making an effort to present sample flats just like private developers do. “But the sample flats will not be well furnished. The decision to develop sample flats was taken only to give prospective buyers an idea about the size of the rooms,” said a second official.

The size of the rooms was one of the main reasons cited by allottees of DDA’s 2014 and 2017 housing schemes while returning the flats — close to 50% of the flats in both the schemes were returned. People said there was no space left to move around in the rooms of LIG flats after putting in a double bed, said the DDA official.

With 16,900 flats (mainly in EWS and LIG categories) located in Narela, the DDA plans to run a dedicated bus service from Jahangirpuri metro station till the location of the flats during the weekends. “The bus service will be free of cost. The public transport service in Narela is not good. Lack of public transport service is one of the reasons why not many people want to come here. We want more and more people to come and have a look at the flats here. We are working on improving the infrastructure in the area,” said the senior official.

After the failure of two housing schemes in 2014 and 2017, DDA is sparing no effort this time around to ensure the sale of flats is a success. In the 2019 scheme, DDA has done away with a major clause that had proved to be a deterrent. “Now, people who own a DDA flat can also apply, but their flat size has to be up to 67 sq.m. We have also scrapped the five-year lock in period, except for EWS category,” said the official.

People can start applying for the flats from next Monday. It is for the first time that the entire process, from submission of applications to paymetnts, will be online. “We will only accept applications online. For this, we will set up facility centres to assist people in filling applications online and other financial transactions,” the official said.