Land worth Rs 1 Lakh Crore lying vacant with DDA
Large tracks of land have been lying vacant with Delhi Development Authority. An internal survey finding of DDA has shown that the agency has vacant land worth 1 lakh crore, the size of which is equal to the area of Lutyen’s Delhi.
Survey Findings
An internal survey to access the worth of vacant land with DDA was conducted by the agency. The findings pointed out that the agency had undeveloped land worth 5,484 acres. The amusing part of this story is that thousands of square metres of such land are in prime areas of New Delhi, including Defence Colony and Vasant Kunj.
If all these lands were clubbed together, the total area would be in range of 22sq km. This would cover almost 80 percent of the area which the Lutyen’s Bungalow zone in Delhi would occupy. This finding has brought the DDA a step closer towards finding its real worth. The agency seems to have woken up from a sleep after these findings emerged and is now getting in touch with government representatives to find ways on using this land effectively.
The report when complied will give DDA an overview of its real worth. Rohini for instance has 756 acres of such land. This can be developed into public amenities space as schools, hospitals and can also be used for social gatherings.
Dilshad Garden, another prime location in New Delhi has around 54,600 sq m of such land. Two thirds of this land is currently encroached upon. If this land is freed from encroachment by any means, this could solve the housing space crunch in this East Delhi locality.
DDA has often been blamed for gross misappropriation of funds. Transparency in its dealings is something which the agency is looking for by uploading the details of this report. In the first step, the agency is thinking about uploading of layout plans of each of the plot on its website. The task is mammoth in itself and the agency will have to upload details of land worth 1 lakh crore on its website.
