DDA to allow housing colonies in industrial areas

To ease pressure on Delhi's housing supply, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is likely to allow construction of residential homes in areas earmarked for industrial units. With the city expanding at a furious pace, industrial clusters such as Okhla Industrial Estate, Mayapuri, Naraina and Mohan Cooperative, which were on its outskirts when they were set up in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, are now surrounded by prime residential areas.

The Authority is now toying with the idea of allowing group housing on about 20 per cent of the land set aside for such clusters. DDA looks into real estate development in the city. Plot owners will be able to get the same FAR or Floor Space Index of 200 allowed for group housing in other parts of the city, DDA sources said.

The Authority estimates, the shortage of homes in the city is likely to rise to 2.4 million by 2021 from 490,000 now. The shortage is to fuel property prices, which, according to Global Property Guide, have risen almost 60 per cent in the last two years. For this, utilising industrial areas to build housing could not only increase the supply of new homes in the city but also bring down property prices, the Authority believes.