DDA sources said that while the authority was not keen to announce a housing scheme before the Games, it was spending a lot of money hiring security personnel to guard completed units and ensure that fittings and fixtures are not stolen.

“We are currently working out the costing of these flats,” Nigam said. The new scheme will also include houses in D-6, Vasant Kunj that are currently being constructed for the Commonwealth Games.

DDA member Finance Nand Lal said the new scheme will be introduced with a new maintenance policy. Under the new policy, a certain charge will be added to the cost of flats to cover 30 years of maintenance by the DDA.

Officials expect the scheme being announced in September will draw at least 10 lakh applicants.

The last DDA housing scheme was announced in September 2008, when the authority put up 5,328 houses up for a draw. The authority received nearly six lakh applications, the draw for which was held in December 2008.

After the draw in December 2008, it emerged that a cartel of property dealers — later arrested by the Economic Offences Wing — had tried to manipulate the allotment system by submitting doctored applications. 

The property dealers particularly targeted houses that were reserved under the special SC/ST category. Their reasoning was that since the special category was smaller, the odds of getting a house allotted would be higher.

The SCAM plan
To avoid scams in future, the DDA hopes the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) will clear a new policy that it proposed soon after the draw in 2008. As per the proposed policy, a clause will be inserted into future housing schemes whereby houses allotted under the SC/ST category will not be allowed to be re-sold for at least 15 years. “We are discussing the proposal with the ministry,” said the DDA vice-chairperson. It remains to be seen whether the MoUD will clear that proposal.