Delhi Development Authority (DDA)
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DDA sitting on land worth Rs 1 lakh crore
Suhas Munshi The Times of India Nov 17 2014
Vacant Plots Nearly Size Of Lutyens' Zone
The Delhi Development Authority is sitting on vacant land worth Rs 1 lakh crore in the capital, the consolidated size of which nearly equals the area of Lutyens’ Delhi.
Incredibly, DDA had little idea about the extent of its holdings till the results of an internal survey came in 10 days ago. It revealed that the authority owned 5,484 acre of undeveloped land, including thousands of square metres in locations like Vasant Kunj and Defence Colony.
If all these plots could be put together in one place, it would yield a 22sq km patch of land — around 85% of the area of 26 sq km Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone.
The survey, for the first time, has given DDA a clear picture of its realty assets. It is now getting in touch with former MLAs and MPs of these areas to help decide how these lands could be developed. The survey has been uploaded on the authority’s website. It also gives details about thousands of square metres of land, par ticularly in east and north Delhi, that have been encroached . The area under litigation is around 300 acres.
Knowledge of vacant land will enable DDA to plan better. For instance, 756 acres of public-semi-public land space in various pockets of Rohini means opportunities for amenities such as hospitals and schools in the area. The huge chunks of land marked for residential use, for instance 54,600 sq m near Dilshad Garden, of which two-thirds is encroached upon, could be freed and used to solve the housing crunch in east Delhi. Around 2,000 acres of land, mostly in north Delhi, which DDA hasn't planned for yet, is a pool whose land-use DDA could decide on a need basis.
The report also provides transparency in DDA 's real estate management, which is often subject to charges of corruption. The authority is working towards uploading layout plans of each of it plots.
“This is for the first time in DDA 's history that the whole inventory of land, whose worth we estimate to be more than Rs 1 lakh crore, has been compiled and put in the public domain.Technology is being leveraged to ensure its protection and monitoring,“ said Balvinder Kumar, vice-chairperson, DDA.
He added that uploading details of the land would serve to prevent underhand deals and the possibility of DDA officers colluding with the land mafia.
Kumar said, with this newly acquired information, DDA was looking at auctioning land that has been earmarked for commercial use. “ Also we are looking to redefine land uses.The land use was earmarked a long time ago. Based on current needs, we may change industrial land use to residential,“ he said.
DDA has earlier changed the status of several pockets of land to `mixed use'. As housing now has a higher priority than before, the authority is looking to tap into its combined land pool to identify sites for group housing societies.
A check on encroachment
The Times of India Jan 08 2015
DDA staff to check encroachment
Less than two months after an internal survey revealed that the Delhi Development Authority was sitting on undeveloped land roughly the size of Lutyens' Delhi, the authority has discovered more such `goldmines' in the capital. It now turns out that DDA's vacant landholdings in Delhi total 7,000 acres, 1,500 acres more than what the survey revealed.
Part of this additional land was added by DDA's assistant engineers after being directed to file an affidavit stating no more undeclared DDA land remained in their zones. Some local politicians and social workers also helped DDA identify their land parcels across the city.
DDA now owns 1,742 plots in various zones of Delhi, about 90 of which are encroached upon and close to 40 under litigation. The greatest chunk of vacant land, ready for development, is in Narela (northwest Delhi). South Delhi, too, has yielded a surprisingly large chunk of 145 acres. The results of the first-of-itskind internal survey of DDA land, completed in November, revealed that the authority owned 5,484 acres of undeveloped tracts in the city. The authority is now working to protect and develop its recently discovered gold mine.
“Identifying our land parcels was quite tough. Nobody wanted to share information. I had to ask engineers to sign affidavits that no more undeclared land lay in their jurisdiction and push other agencies to reveal information. Several individuals came forward to help,” said Balvinder Kumar, vice-chairperson, DDA.
The next step is to protecting the land that’s not yet been encroached upon. “We have uploaded information of all our resources on a cloud-based software, which can be accessed from anywhere. Our officers have been given android-based smartphones and have been asked to photograph land par cels in their jurisdiction,” said a senior authority official.
The official added that these photographs carrying a geographical time-stamp will be periodically uploaded on the software. The procedure is meant to instill timely monitoring of the land and accountability for DDA 's engineers.
DDA has also engaged a private firm to satellite-map and photograph its land. “The photos will be compared from time to time and construction or any deviation will be reported to our quick response teams,“ Kumar added. DDA has set up five QRTs to protect its lands.
The third step, one of planning and allotting its vacant lands, will be taken in a few days. “ After we get all the data, we'll begin utilizing the land optimally . We want to give land to group housing societies, for construction of flats for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and for high-end luxury flats, for flats for senior citizens, and for social infrastructure including hospitals,“ said Kumar.
