Good news for home buyers! DDA Housing Scheme 2016 likely to be launched around Diwali

New Delhi: Delhi Development Authority's Housing Scheme 2016 with 12,000 flats on offer is likely to be launched around Diwali, in what could be a festive bonanza for home buyers.

Out of the total number of flats, most of them in Rohini, Dwarka, Narela, Vasant Kunj and Jasola, 10,000 unoccupied flats are from the 2014 scheme, while 2,000 are other flats which have been lying vacant.

"From housing division side, we have finalised the launch around Diwali time (October end). The decision now awaits nod from the authority which would meet next month," a senior DDA official said.

Sources said most of the flats are one-bedroom LIG flats from the last housing scheme and no new flat is on offer this time.

"About 10,000 are LIG flats from 2014 DDA scheme. Unlike EWS (Economically Weaker Section) last time, in 2016 scheme there would be no such category," the official said.

The registration fee has been hiked.

"For LIG category the fee would be Rs 1.5 lakh while for MIG it would be Rs 5 lakh," he said, adding, "This is to eliminate the middlemen."

From application to refund, the DDA this time has planned to make the scheme an online affair to reduce the long queues of flat buyers at its headquarters.

"Yes, plans are underway to make the process completely online," a source said.

"We are in talks with certain vendors for upgrading our infrastructure to handle the expected increase in traffic. But, we are technologically capable of handling the online rush," the source said.

The flagship Housing Scheme 2014 offered 25,040 flats across categories, with prices ranging between Rs 7 lakh and Rs 1.2 crore.

The online response had been so massive that the DDA's official website crashed soon after the launch. The one- bedroom flats were offered in Dwarka, Rohini, Narela and Siraspur areas.