Big push for land pooling, LG clears notification to develop 95 villages

NEW DELHI: In a major push for planned development and affordable housing in the city, Delhi lieutenant governor Anil Baijal on Friday approved the notification to develop 95 villages under the land pooling policy.

All the villages to be developed under the policy are located in west, north and north-western parts of Delhi. The villages are spread over nearly 77,000 acres of land, of which about 40,000 acres developed land will be available for real estate.

Implementation of the policy will be a gateway to availability of affordable housing in planned pockets of the city.

A senior DDA official said the approval is a major step towards implementation of the land pooling policy for creation of affordable housing units.

It is estimated that the declaration of the 95 villages as development areas of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) would help in providing up to 25 lakh houses in the city.

“The DDA will be responsible for the development of physical and social infrastructure in the identified areas,” said the official.

The matter had been pending for over two years as the Delhi government had been asking DDA to introduce a clause in the policy that 10% of the developed land will be allocated to it to carry out social sector services such as building schools and hospitals.

While the policy implementation will change the character of the rural belts, revenue villages on the margins of the Delhi border are likely to remain outside the purview of the policy.