After a wait of over three decades, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has finally called for the draw of those who had registered for plots under the Rohini Residential Scheme, 1981. The draw for the remaining 744 applicants of the scheme will be held on August 8. The move has come after the registrants took to a series of protests and court cases against the housing authority for either not being able to allot land or giving it off to industries and institutions.
“The DDA will hold draw for the allotment of plots for remainder of the registrants for its Rohini Residential Scheme on August 8. The authority’s vice chairman, Balvinder Kumar has directed us for the draw which will be held at DDA headquarters, Vikas Sadan, in South Delhi,” said a DDA official. The results will be displayed on DDA website www.dda.org.in, added the official.
According to the authority, 82,384 applicants had registered for the Rohini Residential Scheme launched in 1981 in Rohini zone of the DDA under various categories - MIG (mixed income group), lIG (low income group), EWS (economically weaker section). The first draw was held in 1982 itself and subsequently draws were continuously held from 1982 to 2007. Up to 2007, 55,169 applicants had been allotted plots comprising MIG, lIG and Janta categories.
Around 25,298 applicants of all categories were waitlisted. Then, another mega draw was held in the year 2012 and out of 25,298 waitlisted registrants, 24,668 were allotted plots on June 12 the same year. In this way, 80,037 applicants have been allotted plots and 744 registrants are awaiting allotment. As per the new direction, all the remaining 744 registrants will be allotted plots on August 8 and the scheme will be completed, the housing authority said.
In April this year, the Supreme Court had taken a strong exception to DDA’s callous approach in making 25,000 Delhiites wait for 33 years for a plot they were entitled to under this old scheme. The allottees had argued that the DDA had acquired land for allotment but gave it to industries and institutions keeping the allottees waiting for over three decades.
Meanwhile, even after the announcement, registrants were far from being happy. “The claim of DDA that 55,169 scheme allottees have been handed over the developed plots up to 2007 is totally false. The fact is that between 2003 and 2007, DDA allotted most of the plots from plotted pockets of Sector 28, 29, 30 and 32. Besides, mandatory development is not complete in these sectors even after 7-10 years,” said Rahul Gupta, petitioner in pending PIl (on DDA’s Rohini Residential Scheme, 1981).