Over 5 lakh applications on penultimate day of mega housing scheme
The penultimate day of DDA’s mega housing scheme witnessed a huge rush with 5.25 lakh applications being registered on Tuesday. The six-day extension seems to have worked in favour of the housing agency which otherwise was confronted with tepid response for the scheme.
With 25,034 flats on offer, the 2014 Housing Scheme of the Delhi Development Authority had received only around 3 lakh registrations till October 9 - the official closing date for registrations. The scheme lauded as the biggest ever in the land development agency’s history was launched on September 1. In the one month and nine days of the scheme, the DDA received an alarmingly low response with the official figures no way matching that of its previous housing scheme of 2010. It had only 16,000 houses on offer, but still the 2010 housing scheme had received 7.4 lakh registrations.
However, a prompt extension for registrations announced on October 8 seems to have somewhat improved the scenario. In just five days of the extended deadline alone, the authority received 2.25 lakh applications. Till Tuesday, the second last day of the scheme the total number of applications with the DDA were numbered at 5.25 lakh. More number of applications also means a windfall for the DDA as it receives a security deposit of Rs 1 lakh with each form apart from those in the economically weaker section category for which the registration amount is Rs 10,000.
Discerning the reasons for the low response this time, DDA officials said that a major reason could be the lesser number of three bedroom and even two bedroom flats in the scheme being offered. Though the total number of flats is the biggest offered by DDA ever, the lion’s share of it — 22,627 — consists of one-bedroom flats. Number of three bedroom flats is just 21 and that of two-bedroom flats is 561. Officials say this is perhaps the reason why the middle class flat aspirant is not showing much interest in the housing scheme.
Another significant reason, according to DDA officials, is the clause of a five year lock-in period introduced for the first time. According to the clause, the flats wouldn’t be registered in the name of the allottee till five years from the date of possession. The idea is to keep speculators at bay and encourage only those who want to live in their allotted flats. “Even though the number of registrations are less, it only means that we have been successful in keeping investors and speculators away from the getting a house. Our aim was to allot houses to the needy,” said the official.
Through the housing scheme the DDA is offering 25,034 flats in different categories. Of these, 22,627 flats are one-bedroom flats. Most of the flats are from old inventory which includes surrendered flats. Only 512 MIG flats are included in the newly-constructed flats.