DDA to launch mega sale of 12,000 flats in June

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) will put up more than 12,000 flats for sale under its housing scheme this year, with Lt Governor Anil Baijal, who is also chairman of the DDA, putting his stamp of approval to the urban body's proposal.

The offer is set to be launched mid-June, reports quoting top officials in the DDA said, adding that the draft of the brochure is ready and DDA will soon talk to the partnering banks, after which the scheme will be rolled out.

Under the new scheme, there are around 350 two-room Middle Income Group (MIG) flats, while the rest are either one-bedroom Lower Income Group flats (LIG) flats or janata flats.

The flats are spread across the city in places such as Sarita Vihar and Jasola in south Delhi, Dwarka in southwest, Pitampura and Rohini in northwest, Dilshad Garden in northeast, Paschim Vihar in the west and Mukherjee Nagar in the north.

Most of these flats - specially the LIG and Janta units - are surrendered by people who found them to be smaller than what was promised, or feel the neighbourhoods are underdeveloped, like lack of roads and streetlights and inadequate water supply.

DDA has tied up with 10 banks, including Axis Bank, Yes Bank, IDBI, Bank of Baroda, Central Bank, SBI, Kotak Mahindra and HDFC, ICICI Bank and Canara Bank for sale of application and related transactions.

Buyers can visit the flats that are being offered before deciding to invest in the scheme.

The exact date of launch of the scheme is yet to be decided, but it is most likely to be in mid-June. ''The agency may start giving possession around November-December as the unfinished civil work and services in the colonies will be completed around that time,'' a DDA source said.

Rep[orts had earlier said that people whose names figured in the lucky draw of lots will have to purchase the flats or forfeit the registration amount. JP Aggarwal, principal commissioner (land disposal and housing) of DDA said strict penal measures have been prescribed for people who withdraw from the scheme.

However, if a person surrenders his application before the draw date, no money would be deducted from the registration fee. Twenty five per cent of the registration amount will be forfeited of those who withdraw after the draw of lots and before the issue of demand letter, 50 per cent of the money of those who withdraw within three months and the entire sum will have to be forfeited if withdrawn after that.

The DDA also clarified that there will be no embargo on resale of DDA flats before five years, saying that the authority is not putting any such restriction and a person will be free to sell these flats whenever they want.