DDA hikes security deposit for wedding venues by 200%

Getting married in Delhi has become an even more expensive proposition now. Booking a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) venue for a wedding three months in advance will now cost you more than Rs 3 lakh. Sidhartha Roy reports.

Getting married in Delhi has become an even more expensive proposition now. Booking a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) venue for a wedding three months in advance will now cost you more than Rs 3 lakh.

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The DDA has hiked the security deposit for booking its open grounds, parks and community centres by 200 per cent. Though booking charges remain the same and the security deposit is refundable, people will have to cough up a large amount at the time of booking.

Moreover, these venues can now only be booked not more than 90 days in advance. Thee steps, DDA says, is to counter the tent mafia that books venues months in advance and offers them at exorbitant rates.

DDA offers 333 open grounds, 57 community centres and 27 parks for weddings, religious functions and other functions. With its venues across the city, varying between small parks to grounds spread over 60,000 square metres, DDA is usually the first choice for venues.

Venues can now be booked for a maximum of two days and the security deposit is R5,000 per 1,000 square metres, which is applicable if the booking is done 30 days in advance. For booking from 31 to 60 days in advance, the security deposit has been doubled, while it has been trebled if you book 61 to 90 days in advance.

This means booking a 10,000 square metre ground a month in advance would cost R50,000 but a three-month advance booking will mean shelling out R1,50,000. For bigger grounds, the security deposit can even cross R3 lakh.

“This is being done to discourage malpractices as the security is refundable,” said DDA spokesperson Neemo Dhar.

With DDA now deciding not to book venues more than three months in advance, people will have to wait and experience the rush even if a wedding is planned six months earlier. “Three months is a sufficient period for marriage preparations,” Dhar said.

For religious purposes, however, advance booking can be done 100 days in advance. For all other purposes, excluding religious functions and weddings, booking can only be done 30 days in advance.