Delhi Development Authority
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) was established in the year 1957 under the provision of the Delhi Development Act,1957 to foster the development of New Delhi. DDA is controlled by the Union Ministry of Urban Development.
DDA handles housing, infrastructure, commercial properties, land development, and sports complexes of the city. It acquires vast tracts of land for commercial, industrial, residential, and recreational purposes.
A survey was conducted in 2014 with the help of National Productivity Council and Geospatial Data Limited regarding DDA administered land in the city. It revealed that around 5,500 acres of land under DDA was lying vacant across the city.[1]
This comes to around 85 per cent of the area of Lutyens Bungalow Zone and around 50 per cent of the total land area of New Delhi.
The focus of the survey was to protect these plots from illegal encroachment. The survey also found that 298 acres of land under DDA was under litigation. However, there can be a possibility that DDA holds more such land parcels in the city which are kept unused and are locked by the organization.
These unused land parcels create an artificial scarcity of land in the city which imposes a cost on everyone. It results in an increase in the cost of land due to which the cost of infrastructure projects also increases. Freeing up all such unused and locked land parcels have the potential of reducing the artificial scarcity of land in the city.
Details of Vacant Land Under DDA
| # | Zone | Area (acre) | Value (₹ crore) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rohini Zone | 2355.88 | 4,766 |
| 2 | New Delhi West Zone | 174.7 | 353 |
| 3 | New DelhiNorth Zone | 435.95 | 882 |
| 4 | New Delhi East Zone | 997.17 | 2,017 |
| 5 | Dwarka Zone | 1609.29 | 3,256 |
| 6 | New Delhi South Zone | 102.44 | 207 |
| Total | 5675.43 acre | ₹ 11,481 crore | |
The total value of vacant land held under the DDA is about ₹ 11,481 crore. This value is computed using a conservative price of ₹ 4,71,600 with a meagre FSI of just 1. Refer to the map and accompanying table for details.
Experts have estimated the value of these unused land parcels to be around ₹ 1 lakh crore.[3].
If these large chunks of unused land are monetized then each Indian household may set to gain atleast ₹ 459.
