New Delhi: The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is trying to attract more buyers for its housing schemes, which have seen low public interest in recent years owing to factors like poor public transport connectivity and few schools and hospitals within a close radius, ThePrint has learnt.
According to DDA officials, the authority had 16,000 unsold flats in various locations, of which 5,623 were put on sale online under a special scheme this week. The flats being sold under this plan are spread across Jasola, Dwarka, Rohini, Siraspur, Loknayak Puram and Narela, and are part of a “running scheme”, which means that the scheme will continue until all the flats are sold off or the DDA decides to withdraw the scheme. The flats are offered on a ‘first-come, first-served’ basis to anyone who registers online.
On Monday, the first day of the ongoing “running scheme”, the DDA received 7,324 registrations and 632 bookings (till 8.30 pm), according to Bijay Shanker Patel, director (public relations), DDA. By 5.30 pm Tuesday the number of bookings had gone up to over 1,000, according to a DDA statement.
The highest number of flats were sold in Rohini — 475 — followed by 435 in Narela, 50 in Dwarka, 29 in Loknayak Puram, 16 in Jasola and 10 in Siraspur, the statement added.
While in regular DDA schemes only those who do not own any plot or house in Delhi may apply for a flat — and while they may mention their preferred location, allotment is done through the drawing of lots — such restrictions have been removed in the “running scheme”. Buyers under this plan may choose and book their preferred plot online after registering for the scheme.
The DDA first started its online “running scheme” in September last year, with 8,500 flats on offer in Narela in the first phase. The ongoing sale is the fourth phase of this scheme.
Senior DDA officials ThePrint spoke to said that while they were confident of being able to sell the flats which are on offer in prime locations like Jasola and Dwarka, they were apprehensive of buyer response in Narela, which they said has been unpopular among buyers owing to its distance from the city centre, poor connectivity and infrastructure, and lack of public amenities. Of the 5,623 flats put on sale under the current “running scheme” Monday, 3,562 were in Narela.
But relaxed eligibility criteria, affordable prices and “running” format will draw more buyers, they hoped.
Meanwhile, the authority, according to sources, is also planning to engage a real estate consultant to give a push to sales under its regular schemes.
Houses built by DDA are categorised into four broad types — those for the economically weaker sections (EWS), lower income group (LIG), middle-income group and higher income group.
In the ongoing “running scheme” for example, one-bedroom-hall-kitchen (BHK) flats in Narela for the EWS segment, numbering 923 in total, are priced between Rs. 9.89 lakh and Rs. 12.54 lakh (for a plinth area of 35.5 square meters to 54.08 square meters, respectively).
Meanwhile, one BHK flats in the LIG sector in Narela’s G-8 sector, numbering 1224, are priced at Rs. 13.69 lahks to Rs. 13.93 lahks, for a plinth area of 33.251 square meters to 33.851 square meters). The most expensive LIG flats under the ongoing scheme are in Loknayak Puram, priced between Rs. 26.98 lakh to Rs. 28.47 lahks, for a plinth area of 42 square meters to 44.46 square meters.
In the middle-income group category, two BHK flats in Narela’s Sector A-14 (149 flats) and Dwarka’s Sector 19-B (50 flats) for example, are priced between Rs. 1 crore (for a plinth area of 112.77 square meters to 114.69 square meters) and Rs 1.23-1.33 crore (for a plinth area of 119.66 square meters to 129.98 square meters). The Dwarka flats have already been sold.
“The relaxations [in criteria] are only for the ‘first come, first served’ schemes, to attract those buyers or investors who could not buy these flats due to the restrictions in the regular schemes,” a DDA official told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
A second DDA official, also speaking on condition of anonymity added that the buyers in Jasola or Dwarka are more likely to use them for residence, while in Narela, are bought more for investment purposes, with an eye on future returns.
“Our regular housing scheme also involve houses being allotted based on a draw of lots system, but in the running scheme, the applicant can choose a specific flat they like and go ahead to deposit the booking amount,” the second official added.
ThePrint reached Patel over WhatsApp for comment on the reasons behind introducing the “running scheme”, but received no response till the time of publishing of this report. The article will be updated once a response is received.
Past troubles and present strategies
According to data in ThePrint’s possession, most of the regular housing schemes launched by the DDA since 2014 have failed to sell out, with a large number of flats remaining unsold. This was especially the case in Narela. In the 2014 scheme, a total of 12,270 of the 25,040 flats on offer had remained unsold.
The same trend was seen in a 2019 housing scheme for flats in all four categories, launched in Vasant Kunj and Narela, when of the 17,922 flats available only 2,020 were sold.
In December 2021, the DDA had launched a special housing scheme of unsold inventory, but unlike in the “running scheme” the usual DDA restriction on property buying had been retained. Of the 18,335 flats up for sale in the EWS, LIG, MIG and HIG categories — across Jasola, Vasant Kunj, Paschim Vihar, Dwarka, Jahangirpuri, Narela, Siraspur, Lok Nayak Puram, Manglauri and Shivaji Marg — only about 1,800 were sold, said the second senior DDA official.
The official further clarified that the high number of unsold flats was also a result of numerous flats being surrendered by allottees.
Senior DDA officials explained that the authority finds it more feasible to put unsold flats on sale in “running schemes” because there is no draw of lots or eligibility criteria to restrict interested buyers. Previous attempts to sell unsold flats with fresh inventory have not worked out, they claimed.
The senior officials added that more flats from the unsold inventory may be added to the current “running scheme” based on buyer response.
Of the 16,000 flats that were unsold at the beginning of the current “running scheme”, 13,000 are in developing areas — where more than 25 percent of flats under a housing scheme remain unsold. The remaining 3,000 unsold flats include those that were surrendered by allottees.
Meanwhile, the second DDA official told ThePrint that the authority is planning its next fresh regular housing scheme with 24,000 flats, but refused to share details like location. While most of the flats on offer under this scheme will be those that have been newly-built, some would be unsold premium flats. According to the official, the outcome of the ongoing “running scheme” will help the authority decide how to design future schemes.
Also, in what would be a first for the authority, according to the second official, the DDA is learnt to be all set to hire a real estate consultant to advise and reinvent its regular schemes.
“We want the consultant to conduct a study on the demand and supply situation in the market and advise us on how to proceed. This would also include studying pricing mechanisms and our housing regulations, said the second official.
“We want to re-invent our strategies and be in-sync with the market dynamics,” the official said, adding that another first will be hiring a creative authority to aggressively campaign and market its housing inventory.
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‘Not just strategies, but quality’
Planning experts like A.K. Jain, the former commissioner (Planning) of the DDA, feel, however, that the authority needs more than marketing strategy or a “running scheme” to sell its unsold flats.
Terming the DDA’s idea of housing “outdated”, Jain said it needs to improve its design, specifications and construction quality.
“Designs, specifications and high-quality constructions are some of the core factors they (DDA) need to look upon. In the long run, the housing norms should also be revised. Even the unsold inventory that they are looking to dispose of has been lying vacant since 2014, and there has been considerable wear and tear of the units,” Jain claimed.
He further alleged that instances of “poor” quality of construction of the authority’s flats have hurt the branding and reputation of the DDA, and has further added to the dying interest among homebuyers.
Jain cited the example of the Signature View apartments in Mukherjee Nagar, built by the DDA. The project has 12 towers with 336 flats — 224 in the higher-income group category and 112 in the middle-income group category — and was completed in 2010. The allottees moved in between 2011 and 2012.
Based on the 2022 findings of a study by IIT-Delhi, the towers have now been declared structurally unsafe after cracks, corrosion in the beams and loose plaster was noticed soon after residents moved in. The report had claimed that the flats needed to be vacated and demolished as soon as possible to avoid any loss of life. DDA had reached out to IIT Delhi for an evaluation of the structure after residents voiced concern and visible signs of damage appeared. ThePrint has a copy of the report.
In January, Delhi Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena had ordered the DDA to redevelop the entire property and rehabilitate the residents. The LG had also ordered initiation of criminal proceedings against the officials responsible for the lapses which resulted in the current situation.
According to Gaurav Pandey, secretary of the residents’ welfare association at Signature View Apartments, however, residents continue to reside in the structurally unsafe buildings, while an agreement is being reached upon for the DDA to reconstruct the apartments and meanwhile rehabilitate residents elsewhere.
“Due to this [the Signature View case], the DDA is in big soup, and they have lost the public’s trust. Hence, their housing norms, supervision of properties, quantity and quality of construction and branding cannot be the same as what they followed in the 1980s. They have to pay more attention,” Jain added.
ThePrint reached DDA’s Patel on WhatsApp for comment on Jain’s allegation of “poor” construction and the Signature View Apartments case, but received no response till the time of publication of this report. The article will be updated once a response is received.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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