With its Phase-III project expected to culminate by the end of the year, the Delhi Metro has not been able to achieve 88 per cent of the targeted upfront money that was supposed to come via property development.
It was only during Phase-I that the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had surpassed its target revenue from property development.
In Phase-I, it had earned Rs.482 crore extra, whereas under Phase-II it witnessed a deficit of Rs.751 crore. However, the biggest losses have been incurred from Phase-III, where the shortfall has shot up to a mammoth Rs.2,205 crore, including the deficit from Phase-II.
According to DMRC director (business development) S.D. Sharma, it is unlikely that the amount is going to be recovered any time before three years from now.
Policies
“Work on Phase-III began from 2011, but achieving the target has been a herculean task for us. This was mainly due to various policies that restricted the DMRC from property development of plots. The Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 100 plots was too low to attract bidders,” he added.
In a bid to make up for the huge deficit, the DMRC has decided to develop a bunch of plots under the freshly-notified Transit Oriented Development (TOD) guidelines. For this, it has already identified about 20 plots that came to its kitty under Phases I, II and III projects in Delhi.
New norms
“But now, the new TOD norms, wherein the FAR has been increased from 100 to 400, the likely signing of a perpetual lease deeds with L&DO and the DDA are going to be major game-changers. We are going to go big by developing land parcels of about 3,000 sq metres or more. Work will first begin on the biggest plots,” explained Mr Sharma.
The properties will largely be mixed — with both residential and commercial uses. It is pertinent to note that ever since work on the Delhi Metro began in 1998, the DMRC has never got perpetual lease deeds for any of the land given to it by land-owning agencies.
Lack of interest
According to Delhi Metro officials, this is a big reason for lack of interest from bidders, since the DMRC cannot be called the complete owner of the land without the deeds.
“Land-owning agencies agreed to sign all the lease deeds just a few weeks ago. It’s a huge achievement. Another, good news is that the DDA has given us several relaxations in rent cost and FAR,” added a metro official.
Project proposals for developing at least seven such plots have already been finalised. These include Parmeshwari Wala Bagh near Azadpur Metro station, Jasola, Malviya Nagar, Netaji Subhash Place, Jantar Mantar and upcoming Bhikaji Cama station under Phase-III.
Poor response
Of these, the Malviya Nagar project, where 12,290 sq m space will be developed for offices, budget guest houses and food plazas, received absolutely no bidders despite a tender. A second tender is set to be floated in the next two weeks. The one at Jantar Mantar is yet to get approval from the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). The one located at Jasola is stuck for over four years as the DDA is yet to give an NOC for the project.
Work on Phase-III began from 2011, but achieving the target has been a herculean task for us
SD Sharma,
Director (Business Development), DMRC
