Centre to commercialise 45 acres in Delhi to raise money for new govt colonies

The Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) is likely to approve commercialisation of 45 acres of land pockets located at Scindia Marg, Africa Avenue, and Sarojini Nagar in order to raise around ₹20,000 crore, which will be used to realise the cost of the ongoing redevelopment of seven government colonies as work for two-three more such colonies will be taken up soon.
The commercialisation will be carried out by NBCC, a public sector undertaking under the ministry actively involved in these projects along with Central Public Works Department (CPWD), a department under MoHUA.
“The plots in prime areas such as Scindia Marg, Africa Avenue, and Sarojini Nagar along Ring Road have a potential to raise ₹20,000 crore. The exact nature of the projects is yet to be decided,” an official who is aware of the development said.
The same official said that NBCC officials apprised the newly appointed MoHUA secretary Srinivas Katikithala less than a month ago about the potential of these plots.
Old government quarters in DIZ Area (Gole Market) and Andrews Ganj will be redeveloped in line with the ongoing seven GPRA (general pool residential accommodation) redevelopment projects at Nauroji Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Mohammadpur, Sriniwaspuri, Kasturba Nagar and Thyagaraj Nagar. “Tenders have been floated for these two areas and the bids are being evaluated.”
Lodhi Road area is another cluster of government quarters that is in contention for redevelopment, said another official.
NBCC generated ₹14,799.62 crore by selling all the commercial space in the World Trade Centre (WTC) in Nauroji Nagar and the DownTown project in Sarojini Nagar. It may be recalled that the Union Cabinet in 2016 had approved the seven GPRA redevelopment at an estimated cost of ₹32,835 crore. The entire cost of the project was to be carried out without any budgetary allocation by selling commercial out of existing areas within these colonies and going for vertical development.
While NBCC is redeveloping Nauroji Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, and Netaji Nagar, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) — the construction arm of MoHUA – is executing the other four colonies — Kasturba Nagar, Thyagraj Nagar, Srinivaspuri, and Mohammadpur. It is to be noted that NBCC being a PSU can effectively sell to private parties, which CPWD cannot.
Efforts to seek an official comment from a MoHUA spokesperson and other concerned officials did not elicit a response.
Out of the seven, Thyagraj Nagar and Mohammadpur have been completed while the remaining are set to be completed by 2025, according to official estimates. However, officials in the know said that it will take another two years for the project to be completed as the construction is yet to begin in many packages due to environmental regulations including scrutiny from the Delhi high court. “However, some packages like Type 2 quarters in Kasturba Nagar will be developed much earlier and may even see allocation much earlier,” the officer earlier quoted added.
The redevelopment of government colonies even in the erstwhile UPA government such as East Kidwai Nagar and Moti Bagh was also carried out on a self-sustaining basis. “The Moti Bagh quarters were developed by funds generated from leasing out the land on which currently Leela Hotel has been developed.”
Shortfall in staff housing
A recently retired top bureaucrat said that the shortage of government housing is a decades-old issue. “There is a long waiting list of thousands. I had got my official accommodation only after a decade in service. Often even if there is vacancy, officers are forced to accept bungalows below their level of entitlement,” he said.
Officials from MoHUA could not be reached for a comment on the specifics.
In a reply in Lok Sabha in April 2017, the minister of state of the erstwhile ministry of urban development Rao Inderjit Singh had stated that the total shortage of GPRA accommodation in Delhi was at 22,365 with the total demand being 83,483. The majority of the shortage is in Type 2 (7,652) and Type 3 (7,886) accommodations, followed by Type 4 at 2,221.
Even in 2011, an estimate published by the Indian Institute of Town Planners of India said that the existing housing stock was at 64,190 against a demand of 1,03,110 units. That publication estimated that by 2021, 63% of the entire housing stock of GPRA would have outlived its structural life making it ripe for demolition.
The seven GPRA redevelopment projects making way of 24,917 dwelling units by replacing 12,970 dwelling units of various types were the biggest overhaul of the central government staff housing in Delhi in one go.
School of Planning and Architecture dean PSN Rao, who is currently part of the central government’s high-level committee for urban planning reforms and formerly part of the Delhi Urban Arts Council (DUAC), said the existing buildings had to be redeveloped given their age. He added that the development was low-density and called for better utilisation of space.
“The buildings were also of very dated specifications. They are not suited to the aspirations of the people in the present day making a clear case for redevelopment with better light and ventilation and better-quality specifications be it more electrical points or better-quality kitchens, flooring and so on,” adding the need to go vertical to accommodate more dwelling units.