The Hindu 12.07.2016
DMRC formulates housing scheme in Janakpuri West
Approximately 350 flats to be built; project awaits Centre’s approval
On track:Currently, DMRC has housing projects at Khyber Pass (Civil
Lines), Vishwavidyalaya, Dwarka Mor, Subhash Nagar and Rithala.File
Photo
: 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.
