Course correction? DDA to offer quake-resistant, spacious flats in its 2018 housing scheme

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Moneycontrol News 

In a bid to reposition itself in the market, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is now offering features such as rainwater harvesting, earthquake-resistance and spacious bedrooms in its housing scheme for 2018, as per a report in the Hindustan Times.

The move comes after buyers had returned as many as 8,500 flats out of 25,000 flats on offer in the 2014 housing scheme because of less spacious rooms and lack of infrastructure among other reasons. The returned flats, mostly in Dwarka, Rohini and Narela have been put up for sale again in the recently introduced 2017 housing scheme.

The new High Income Group flats, about 215 in number, with premium safety features will be developed in south east Delhi’s Jasola Vihar area.

According to DDA, the new development has been done in compliance with the latest earthquake resistant technology (IS13920, IS456 and IS13920) which can withstand earthquakes measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale. The project will also have a local sewage treatment plant, RO treated water for drinking and multilevel underground parking.

DDA, which was once the leader in the real estate market for providing flats at affordable rates, is looking to bounce back to its earlier position with this new scheme.

Another agenda seems to be the focus on high rise apartments, as evident from the new project, where only 20 percent of the complex area is said to be used for the buildings.

The new flats comply with the National Building Code of 2016 and have a carpet area of 100 square meters, room sizes of approximately 16 X 14 square feet with a balcony and a bathroom attached with each bedroom.

The code also looks into construction norms such as building column spots, parking rules, the height of buildings and corresponding to floor area ratio, and also proper measures for evacuation in an emergency.