DDA relieved after huge success of CWG flats sale

New Delhi: The capital’s primary urban development body, the Delhi Development Authority, is heaving a sigh of relief, following the successful bid on 87 of 110 flats it had put up for sale, in the Commonwealth Village. By the time of submission of tenders on the flats – whose sale of tender document began 26 April – at 2 pm on Monday, the authority had already received 218 bids for 87 flats. Understandably, the DDA feels vindicated about its decision to have purchased 333 of the around 700 flats on it owns at the Games Village, at a price of Rs 11,000 per square feet from a private builder in 2009. “The bid for 87 of our flats at such good prices vindicates us and our decision to buy them at a rate of Rs 11,000 per square feet from a private builder,” says Neemo Dhar, PRO of the Delhi Development Authority. [caption id=“attachment_317778” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The authority’s commissioner too had expressed satisfaction over the bids on Monda. Reuters”]  [/caption] The body had purchased 333 flats from Emaar MGF at Rs 11,000 per square feet so as to construct the Games Village meant for participating athletes and delegations of the Commonwealth Games, following which it received much criticism. The Shunglu Committee – a panel appointed by the Planning Commission to probe corruption in organising the CWG and headed by former Comptroller and Auditor general VK Shunglu – chastised the urban development body for buying flats from the private developer at Rs 11,000 per square feet in May 2009, accusing it of causing a loss to the exchequer. Dhar told Firstpost that the decision at the time was the correct one and the bids proved that. “It (buying the flats at Rs 11,000 per square feet) was definitely an out of the box decision – and that’s why people were talking. But, if we didn’t have to buy those flats at the time, the CWG would not have been held,” she said. Dhar also said that the average sale price per square feet for the 87 of the 110 flats that attracted bids was Rs 24,000 per square feet – a 115 percent hike on the Rs 11,000 per square feet price it was purchased for. The DDA owns more than 700 flats at the Games Village and once the bids for all of the 100 flats on sale are successful and complete the authority will decided the future path of the remaining flats. However, Dhar did not put a timeline for the same. In Monday’s bid, the Delhi State Cooperative Bank Limited was the highest bidder at more than Rs 7.31 crore for a five bedroom apartment (at the rate of Rs 24,137 per square feet) – for which the reserve price was Rs 5.21 crore (at Rs 17,205 per square feet) – almost a 40 percent increase. The authority’s commissioner too had expressed satisfaction over the bids on Monday. “The response of PSUs, banks and autonomous bodies was very good. We received multiple bids for specific flats. Normally, only 50-60 percent flats receive bids in such auctions but we managed to receive them for 87 out of 110 flats. The average bid on Monday was Rs 21,000 per sq ft,” Asma Manzar, DDA housing commissioner had told The Times of India. The DDA would not say which other PSU’s bid and in what quantity or at what rates. As far as the authority is now concerned, they are basking in the sweet smell of success and the anticipated swish of their coffers being filled.