Penalty clause relaxed in DDA housing scheme

In a breather to potential homebuyers, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) relaxed the forfeiture clause of its new housing scheme, deciding that no penalty will be charged if houses are surrendered within 15 days of allotment.

Earlier, DDA had imposed a penalty of 25 per cent if buyers surrender the house after allotment.

The Lieutenant Governor also approved the recommendation to increase the deadline for the scheme by a month, till September 11.

"We noted that many potential buyers were afraid to apply for the scheme because of this clause. We discussed the matter with LG Anil Baijal and he approved our recommendation," a senior official of the authority said.

DDA officials said that the relaxation of the penalty clause will result in more people applying for the scheme.

"For this reason we have increased the deadline," an official said.

He added that earlier many banks which were not ready to give loans due to this clause have now changed their mind.

Till last week, DDA received nearly 9,000 applications. The scheme was launched on June 30, with over 12,000 flats on sale.

These include 87 HIG flats, 404 two-room MIG flats, 11,197 one-bedroom LIG flats and 384 janta flats.

In the upcoming week, DDA is likely to set-up some new counters for registration of potential buyers.

The officials informed that the LG, who is also the chairman of DDA, is happy with the progress of the scheme.