To check tent mafia, DDA to auction wedding venues via e-tendering

If you can’t beat them, milk them — that seems to be the motto of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) while dealing with the city’s ‘tent mafia’.

The DDA will auction 46 of its most sought after ‘ premium sites’ in Delhi — that have an area of over 2,000 square metres — through e-tendering for a year. The system will be similar to the tendering process of parking sites to contractors.

This is part of the DDA’s revised policy for allotment of sites for weddings, etc. DDA vice - chairman Balvinder Kumar had formed a committee to come up with ways to check the stranglehold of ‘tent mafia’.

With auctioning of sites usually booked for we d - dings, the rates might spiral from the present ` 10,648 for a 2,000- square metre site to ` 1 lakh. These spacious sites are mostly located in Rohini, Pitampura and parts of East Delhi and can easily accommodate large gatherings.

Currently, the ‘ tent mafia’ controls these sites by manipulating the system and rents them out for exorbitant prices after installing permanent shamianas. The pay the DDA the official rate.

The DDA will now earn a hefty sum through auctioning. The authority says these sites are usually booked by ‘higher sections of the society who can afford to pay competitive prices’. The DDA, however, claimed that it would regulate the rents for these sites.

Strict conditions have been introduced to avoid malpractice. Only blood relations of the bride or groom -- parents, brother, sister, etc. -- can book the sites Details of the bride and groom will have to be provided at the time of booking and DDA officials will inspect their identity at the time of wedding.

The credit or debit cards used for payment will be crosschecked.

All 351 DDA sites have been cate gorised and dif ferent modes of allotment have been proposed to be adopted by segregating spaces area-wise and location-wise. Apart from the 46 premium sites, 19 sites have been chosen for developing wedding halls.

The DDA will provide steel trusses at 34 sites so that anybody hiring these spaces can put up tents of their choice within a short time. This will also mean tent mafia wouldn’t be able to put up permanent shamianas.

The last category will be the 262 open spaces wherein one can use decoration as per one’s requirement.