NEW DELHI: The Delhi Development Authority may soon allow construction of residential homes in areas earmarked for industrial units, a move that could help ease the national capital’s housing supply pressure.

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 DDA, which looks into real estate development in the city, is considering allowing group housing on about 20% of the land set aside for such clusters.

“Plot owners will be able to get the same FAR of 200 allowed for group housing in other parts of the city,” a senior DDA official, who did not wish to be named, said.

As per Delhi government estimates, the shortage of homes in the city is likely to rise to 2.4 million by 2021 from 490,000 now. The shortfall tends to fuel property prices, which, according to Global Property Guide, have risen almost 60% in the last two years.

Opening up of industrial areas to housing could not only increase the supply of new homes in the city but also bring down property prices.

Several of these old industrial estates now house business showrooms and offices, besides huge halls that are rented out for banquets and other social events. The Okhla Industrial Estate, one of the city’s oldest and spread over 109.52 acres in the south, houses offices of several multinational companies and law firms.

The DDA recently passed its land pooling policy under which landowners will be able to pool their land for development by the city’s land owning agency. Now, instead of being compensated for land, owners will get back 40-60% of land after infrastructure development, and they will be free to keep it for themselves or sell it to real estate developers.

As part of measures to improve land utilisation in the city, the urban development ministry is planning to redevelop government housing colonies such as Kidwai Nagar, RK Puram, Sarojini Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Lodhi Road and Moti Bagh, which are located on prime real estate along the Ring Road in south Delhi.

The government is also planning to build high-rise residential and commercial buildings in these areas. In East KidwaiNagar for instance, the National Buildings Construction Corp has started work to build around 4,700 new houses in high-rise buildings in place of the existing 2,200. NBCC also plans to develop 1 million sq ft of office space and about 400 homes, which will be leased to state-run firms, government departments, committees, tribunals and other authorities on a long-term basis.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/real-estate/news/dda-to-allow-construction-of-houses-in-industrial-areas/articleshow/21695901.cms