Huge queues, site crashes as DDA launches Housing Scheme 2014 with 25,034 flats

New Delhi: The DDA today launched its much-awaited ‘Housing Scheme 2014’ offering over 25,000 flatsacross various categories, amid a huge response from people. But somewhat on expected lines, the authority’s website crashed soon after the scheme was opened to the public.

“The DDA Housing Scheme 2014 is now officially open. We are offering 25,034 flats in the scheme, out of which 22,627 are one-bed room apartments. Among others, are 896 flats constructed after 2010, with green technology,” Balvinder Kumar, Vice-Chairman, DDA, said.

The new scheme offers flats ranging from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 1.2 crore across categories, viz - EWS, LIG, MIG, HIG, Janta flats and one-room apartments.

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“The scheme would be open to applicants from 1 September and the last date to receive the application is 9 October. The draw of lots would preferably be taken out within 20 days of the close of the scheme,” Kumar said.

Huge queues were seen at Vikas Sadan, the DDA headquarters here where people had come from near and far away places soon after the scheme was officially launched this morning at the headquarters.

The response online was so massive that the DDA official website crashed soon after the launch, a senior DDA official said.

The one-bedroom apartment flats are in Dwarka, Rohini, Narela and Siraspur areas, priced above 14 lakh onwards, depending on the location and plinth area, the DDA said. Out of 896 newly-built flats, 512 are MIG flats and 384 Janta flats, located in Mukherjee Nagar, Narela, Rohini and Kalyan Vihar areas.

The MIG flats would range from Rs 41.30 lakh and Rs 69.90 lakh and the Janta flats - one room
tenement with a kitchentte - would cost a little over Rs 10 lakh, it said.

“Nearly 20 lakh applicants are estimated to apply for this scheme and therefore we have printed about 15 lakh forms and brochures so far. but, if needed, we can print more. We have also empanelled 13 banks, who will assist the applicants,” Kumar said.

The registration fee for all other categories is Rs 1 lakh, and Rs 10,000 for EWS (Economically Weaker Section) category, he said, adding a ceiling of Rs 1 lakh of annual income has been prescribed for those applying under the EWS category.

“While for general applicants, only a PAN card photocopy would suffice along with the application form, for EWS applicants an income certificate would also have to be attached,” he added.

“While the Dwaraka flats are nearly ready, those in Rohini would be done by March next year. In Narela, they are located in G-8 and G-2 sectors. The EWS flats are located in Siraspur areas,” the official said.

DDA for the first time has introduced a five-yearlock-in period for ownership of the flats, to cut outmiddlemen and reduce the scope of speculative buying.

“After five years, the DDA will formally execute aconveyance deed in their favour,” the DDA official said.

The urban body also for the first time had proposed a80-20 quota in this scheme, but that proposal which sought to offer 80 per cent flats to Delhi residents has been scrapped.

DDA is offering 700 flats for EWS category, which arepart of the housing complex at Swatantra Bharat Mills premiseson Rohtak Road. The flats have been developed by a privatebuilder as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signedbetween the DDA and the builder.

The EWS flats priced from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 11 lakh, theurban body said.

Over 800 old flats located under different categories arealso being offered, on account of them being cancelled or surrendered.

These flats (older) consists of 21 HIG flats, 49 MIG, 451LIG, 129 expendable and 161 Janta flats. The cost ranges fromRs 1.2 crore for HIG flats to Rs 5.4 lakh for Janta flats, theDDA said.

The DDA had earlier said that the total number of flatson offer was over 26,000 but today said the figure has been revised to over 25,000.

For the first time, DDA has also decided to do away withattachments along with the application forms and now only aphotocopy of PAN card would be needed for the new one-pageform, Kumar said.

There is no income limit on one-bedroom apartments andany eligible candidate can apply. For EWS category, there willalso be an option to pay the cost of the flats in instalments,she added.

Any Indian citizen, 18 years of age and above on the dateof filing of the application for the flats is eligible for the scheme.

“In its last scheme, ‘DDA Housing Scheme 2010’, therewere 11 lakh applications for 15,000 flats,” a DDA spokesperson said, adding, “To curb black-marketing of forms,we have restricted the number of purchase to only two for each buyer”.

with PTI inputs