Urban shelter body to auction land for hotel at Rajouri Garden
The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) is planning to auction around 7,000 square metres of land in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden for the construction of a hotel. The move is aimed at increasing revenue by utilising land lying unused for years.
“We are aiming to earn at least ` 400 crore from it. Most of our revenue comes from land given on lease. We have had land lying unused causing losses to the department. After conducting a review, the government has asked us to use the land for commercial purposes. The land in west and outer Delhi will be used for the construction of 27,000 flats in the area and other land will be used for commercial purposes,” said a DUSIB official.
According to sources, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been conducting reviews of various departments, has asked the cash- strapped departments to increase revenue. “We had given land on lease in Rajouri Garden long back and this large portion of the land was lying vacant. We are identifying land in other parts of the city too,” the official added.
DUSIB has also invited tenders for the allotment of open ground in Raja Garden for ten months for the purpose of mar- riages, social or cultural events. “We are also exploring the option to use vacant land as parking sites and earn revenue. We are not a profit making department as we are into building shelters for homeless and constructing homes for slum dwellers. But the new government has suggested that land can be used temporarily for commercial purposes,” the official said.
Sources said that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) also owe them around R 20,000 crore as they are utilising the DUSIB’s land. DUSIB said that they are not able to earn much from the freehold policy of JJ plots.
The department has also incurred losses for allotting land at inter-departmental rates instead of circle rates to various agencies.
WE ARE AIMING TO EARN AT LEAST ` 400 CRORE FROM IT. MOST OF OUR REVENUE COMES FROM LAND GIVEN ON LEASE. WE HAVE HAD LAND LYING UNUSED CAUSING LOSSES TO THE DEPARTMENT.
AN OFFICIAL