Once highly sought-after, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flats have seemingly lost their demand, as a lot of allottees are returning them.
Speaking to The Hindu , various former allottees who had applied for flats in different categories said the high pricing, remote location, insufficient connectivity and quality of the DDA flats in Narela and Dwarka were among the reasons why they have returned them
Pritha Marik, a city-based architect, said that she had applied for a 2 BHK DDA flat under the middle-income group category (MIG) a few years ago. To her dismay, the flat allotted to her was located in Narela.
“Getting a flat in Narela is not profitable given that it is located far away and we also paid a visit to the sample flats in Vasant Kunj. The design and layout of the sample flat was not feasible, there was more space in common areas but the rooms were so small that one cannot move around much if a bed was placed in the room. Narela was my last preference,” she said, adding that she expected something on the lines of the older DDA flats located in the city’s Siddhartha Extension.
Pradeep Kumar, an army jawan, said that he had applied for a 1 BHK lower-income group (LIG) flat in Rohini but ended up being allotted a flat in Narela, a preference he had never mentioned while applying.
Unaffordable price
He added: “The flat was allotted to me in 2009, and there were many applicants like me who never mentioned Narela in their preference but that is where most of their allotments were located. There is no connectivity in Narela, no markets or facilities in the area. I’m glad that I did not go ahead with the decision to purchase that flat because the prices of the LIG flats in areas with better connectivity and facilities, including those under the latest scheme, are not affordable.”
Several other former allottees stated that while they were not in favour of acquiring a DDA flat in Narela, a similar response was observed for the 2 BHK MIG flats located in Dwarka’s Sector-16 B and Sector-19 B, with most stating that the price was not affordable.
According to the DDA’s latest special housing scheme, which has 18,335 flats for sale, the price of a 2 BHK MIG flat in Dwarka’s Sector-19 B, ranging between a plinth area of 119.66 square metre and 129.98 square metre, stands at ₹1.14 crore to ₹1.24 crore.
For the flats in Sector-16 B, ranging between a plinth area of 121.35 square metre and 132.77 square metre, the price stands between ₹1.16 crore to ₹1.27 crore.
Of the 18,335 flats for sale, 11,452 one bedroom flats fall under the LIG category, while 5,702 fall in the economically weaker section (EWS) and Janta flats category. A majority of the LIG and EWS flats up for sale are located in Narela.
While 6,546 of the LIG flats in Narela’s Sector G-7, with an area of 49.90 square metre, are priced at ₹22.80 lakh, 5,033 of EWS flats in Narela’s Sector A1 to A4 – ranging between a plinth area of 46.71 square metre and 54.08 square metre – are priced at ₹10.75 lakh to ₹12.42 lakh.
Development projects
Responding to these observations, a senior DDA official agreed that there were connectivity issues with respect to the DDA flats in Narela. However, he emphasised on the recent projects that were announced to address these issues, including a ₹825 crore development scheme that was announced for Narela’s Sector G-2 and Sector G-6. Development projects for Narela includes building of an Urban Extension Road –II (UER-II) and a phase four metro line for the Rithala-Bawana-Narela corridor among other projects.
He added: “The connectivity problems do not apply to the DDA flats in Dwarka, Jasola and Vasant Kunj. A six-lane rail overbridge was also inaugurated in Narela this year. Within the next three to four years, the upcoming projects will help solve the present day issues. Dwarka faced similar issues at one point and now it is not the same. We are also allotting a parcel of land for the construction of a police station to help address the security issues, and one flat in Narela has been allotted to the Delhi police to operate out of, until then.”
However, the senior official disagreed that the prices of the DDA’s LIG flats were “not affordable” and said that the prices of the flats in the higher price range category “were inclusive of car parking”.
“As to the quality of the flats, there were problems in some of the LIG flats but we have reduced the construction cost from 10% to 40% and we are also offering some of the flats between ₹8 lakh to ₹ 10 lakh. All of the 18,335 flats under the special housing scheme for 2021 are flats which were returned by allottees with most of them located in Narela and this pattern of returning flats has started only after 2014,” the senior official said.
