New Delhi: The upcoming Lok Sabha elections might prove to be a dampener for those dreaming of owning an affordable house in Delhi.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had announced last month that it will launch a new housing scheme in 2014. For most Delhiites, DDA’s housing schemes are the only chance of owning a house in the Capital at affordable rates.

According to sources in DDA, the scheme was scheduled to be launched in either February or March this year. However, with general elections expected to be held in April or May, the launch is likely to be delayed now.

“We are still working on the modalities of the housing scheme and with the code of conduct likely to be in force very soon, the housing scheme is not likely to be launched in the next six months,” said a senior DDA official who didn’t wish to be named.

Though DDA officials were tightlipped about the details of the scheme even after announcing it in December, sources had said that it was scheduled to be launched after mid-February or early March. Now, however, it seems that the scheme would not be launched before June.

In its last housing scheme, launched in 2010, the DDA had offered 16,000 flats — oneroom, three-bedroom and furnished apartments. This time, the number of flats could vary between 9,000 and 30,000, depending on which flats DDA wants to include in the scheme.

The DDA has recently submitted a report to the union urban development ministry, saying that nearly 33,000 flats were available but in different stages of construction. Of these flats, about 25,000 flats are one-bedroom ones.

“There were earlier plans to launch the scheme by midFebruary but since many key decisions are yet to be taken, it might get delayed,” the official said.

Source:http://paper.hindustantimes.com/