DDA Housing scheme: 1,500 allottees return flats

One would like to believe that landing a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flat is a dream come true for anyone but for 1,500 lucky allottees, that is not the case it seems.

One would like to believe that landing a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flat is a dream come true for anyone but for 1,500 lucky allottees, that is not the case it seems.

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More than 1,500 successful applicants have surrendered back their flats to DDA in just a couple of months since they were allotted the flats.

“Most of the flats that have been surrendered are from Rohini sector 34, apart from those in Narela and some in Dwarka sector 23-B,” said a senior DDA official who didn’t wish to be named. “It seems that these applicants didn’t like the location of the flats in Rohini or their size,” he said.

Almost 90% of the flats offered in the scheme were one-bedroom type flats, aimed at applicants from lower income groups. “1,500 flats out of more than 25,000 flats is not a very big number. Many flats are surrendered by allottees during every scheme,” he said.

Many allottees had complained that the one-bedroom flats at Rohini, Narela and Dwarka are too small for a family to live in. On average, the size of these flats varied between 40 and 50 sq metres.

The flats surrendered by these allottees would be now offered to applicants who were put on a waiting list by DDA after the draw of lots. In fact, the number of waitlisted applicants - 1259 - is less than the number of flats that have already been surrendered.While there were very few two and three bedroom flats in DDA’s 2014 scheme, the agency has promised nearly 16,000 bigger flats in its next scheme, expected in December 2016.