Flats in Delhi: Will it Continue to Remain a Dream?

The entire framework of the Delhi 2021 Master Plan was laid on the land pooling policy whose aim was to bring transparency in the land acquisition and development scene in Delhi. Despite being approved over a year back its official affirmation is still awaited. The policy not only brought hope for thousands of Delhi'ites' who could finally dream to own a home but also emerged as a foundation stone for numerous housing societies that offered residential apartments/plots in the stated zones of the master plan at a price that was much below the market. We highlighted many such societies in our previous blog but the question that strikes everyone today is that with the official confirmation being still on tenter hooks, is it a wise decision to invest in such schemes?

Before going to that let us give a look at these housing schemes and what's up for offer.

Majority of such schemes are proposed to be based in PII zone of North Delhi and would offer luxuriously designed apartments with all modern amenities at an average price of Rs 2,500per sq. ft. It is believed that PII zone would receive major infrastructural development at the hands of DDA if things go as per the master plan.

The Risk Analysis Definitely! It is a risky proposition and the DDA advertises the same through its awareness campaigns. But if we look at the 2021 plan, it highlights a very important concern of the authorities i.e. how to increase the shelter options for the growing population of the city? The only viable answer is the land pooling policy as it could bring the earlier under-developed patches of land under DDA for socio-economic purposes. If market experts are to be believed, then the policy would get accepted in a couple of months as the proposed stamp duty exemption asked by the DDA is keeping it under the wraps. Even if it gets approved and accepted there is another concern that the hope for a home would still be years away. If we go by general standards, DDA would take almost 2-3 years to develop the zones and the housing society would take another 4-5 years to get the complex ready. The housing schemes explain this time gap in a better way as this interval would give the property a good appreciation. This could be true if we take into account the rising housing demand in Delhi. Overall we can only say that land pooling based residential establishments are long term investments and not something that one could cash in instantly.

Photo Credit: dda.org

Are the housing schemes Bogus? Many housing schemes got unearthed as the idea of land pooling started taking shape with the popular ones being Revanta Housing Society, Welfare Housing Society, Green Mansion Welfare Society, Sri Hari Niwas Welfare Society etc. Commenting on their credibility is  difficult as their status lies on the confirmation of the policy and the DDA officially releasing the names of societies that surrender their lands to them. People aspiring to be members of such institutions should conduct their due diligence before investing.

To get more updates on the land pooling policy and its implementation, keep coming back to our posts.