DDA To Spend 40% Of Its Annual Budget On Developing Housing, Commercial Hubs

In the financial year 2019-20 (FY20), the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) plans to turn the national capital into a “world-class city”, and it is going to spend about 40 per cent of its annual Budget on building housing and commercial hubs as it pursues that dream.

Presenting a Rs 6968-crore Budget for FY20 on February 25, the development authority set aside Rs 30,22 crore for building of homes and shops, Rs 2,319 crore for land development, Rs 466 crore for land acquisition and Rs 1,161 crore for miscellaneous works.

It may be recalled here that the DDA has already launched its land pooling policy under which it would acquire land for future projects. This means this could be the last time money has been allocated in the annual Budget for land acquisition purposes.

The amount allocated for construction works would be spend on developing 15 housing schemes across Dwarka, Narela and Bakkarwala,  apart from retrofitting of old commercial establishments at Nehru Place, Bhikaji Cama Place and Basant Lok. A portion of the money would also be spent in developing new socio-cultural centres at Mayur Vihar, Rohini and Shahdara.

DDA officials say large-scale housing projects would be taken up in localities of Dwarka, Narela and Rohini. In Dwarka, in fact, the DDA plans to develop 200 hectares of vacant land.

“A consultant would soon be hired to prepare a detailed project report for the plan under which we would provide world-class facilities in Dwarka,” DDA officials told media.

The DDA will also take up 19 development projects, including construction of flyovers, roads and sports facilities.

To make the national capital safer for pedestrians, the DDA has also approved the draft policy for enhancing walkability in Delhi. The pilot of this project will be implemented in areas such as ITO junction, Chandni Chowk, Hauz Khas-IIT, Nehru Place, Bhikaji Cama Place, Kamla Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, all the ISBTs, the Old Delhi Railway Station and the New Delhi Railway Station, among others.

As part of its in-situ rehabilitation programme, the DDA is also building over 3,000 units at Kalkajee, 1,675 homes at Jailorwala Bagh and 2,800 homes in Kathputili Colony.