Rebuild DDA colonies over 50 years old, revis circle rates for Delhi, LG's task force proposes

All residential colonies built by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) that are over 50 years old might have to be reconstructed to bolster their structural safety, if the recommendations of a government-industry task force set up by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena are accepted.

- Snehil Sinha

The task force, which was set up by Saxena in 2024 and comprises the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, DDA, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Confederation of Indian Industry, submitted its report to the LG and industries minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday.

To be sure, the recommendations are not binding on the government and a decision will have to be taken by the Delhi government.

There are at least 30 residential colonies built by DDA, which was set up in 1957 and reports to Saxena, that are at least 50 years old, spread across the Capital.

The report titled "How to revitalise Delhi: Report of the task force", a copy of which HT has seen, also recommended that circle rates for commercial and industrial property in Delhi should be reduced as they are higher than neighbouring Gurugram and Noida and even Mumbai in some cases. The panel also suggested incentivising slum redevelopment through Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects with commercial activity.

"There are some overarching recommendations in the report that have the potential to change the city's urban and industrial landscape. We will be reviewing the recommendations to frame policies around the viable solutions. The aim is to work towards a developed Delhi with sustainable and environment-friendly infrastructure," said Sirsa.