The Hindu 12.07.2016
DMRC formulates housing scheme in Janakpuri West
Approximately 350 flats to be built; project awaits Centre’s approval
: City residents can now look beyond the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for getting their ‘dream homes’. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has conceptualised a housing scheme in Janakpuri West, which is likely to become operational in 2019.
Unlike its previous five residential projects wherein it had given land to a concessionaire for building apartments and selling it to the public, this time, the DMRC is going to build a residential complex on its own. The flats are going to be built as high as up to 29 storeys.
Facts and figures
“The plot size will be 1.18 hectare. The land use is residential. So, 70 per cent of it will be used for building flats, 20 per cent for commercial purposes and 10 per cent for other purposes. The project proposal will be sent to the Ministry of Urban Development for its approval,” said S.D. Sharma, Director (Business Development), DMRC.
The cost of the flats is yet to be decided, but their allotment will be done through a computerised draw similar to that of the DDA. There will be approximately 350 dwelling units built over a floor-area ratio of 400, which is in accordance to the latest Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) guidelines.
It is after eight years that the Delhi Metro is venturing into the housing sector. “In 2008, the PMO had expressed concerns over how allowing houses to be built for the public would mean letting land parcels slip away from the government’s possession. Residential leases are always given for 90 years or more. So, we had to restrict ourselves to commercial development,” said Mr. Sharma.
It was only at meetings in the past two months that the MoUD expressed willingness in such projects, he added.
On the cards
The DMRC has also identified about 20 plots of 3,000 square metres and above which will be developed into mixed-use societies under the TOD norms. For all the other projects, it is going to introduce the system of e-auctioning like the DDA.
DMRC has housing projects at Khyber Pass (Civil Lines), Vishwavidyalaya, Dwarka Mor, Subhash Nagar and Rithala. Possession of flats is being given away in all the projects, except the one in Dwarka Mor, where work has been affected due to a dispute in construction.
It is pertinent to note that it is almost impossible for the DMRC to meet its property development revenue target of Rs. 2,505 crore only through commercial projects. “The limitation is that the entire money is not recovered at the beginning. But, in residential projects, we earn a lot of upfront money because the developer collects bookings in advance from the end user. The builder is, therefore, ready to give us that money at the beginning, which we can use for construction,” said a senior Metro official.