High rises for Delhi’s bureaucrats planned in Defence Colony, Mayur Vihar 

“So, 10% of flats at Gulabi Bagh and Kalyanwas are planned for commercial use to help recover the redevelopment costs. We also have plans to use the entire permissible FAR (Floor Area Ratio) at these two locations and build high-rise buildings. We will keep flats for officials and staff, as per the requirement, and the remaining will be sold,” he added.

Revenue generated from these projects will also be used to finance the development of the new Delhi Secretariat complex at ITO, Singh further said.

Unlike Gulabi Bagh and Kalyanwas, the Bahapur project will be purely residential. The existing flats are in poor condition and require immediate redevelopment, Singh said. 

“In Bahapur, 160 Type V and Type VI flats, with bedrooms, halls and kitchens, will be constructed. The tender for this project will be floated by next week. As there is an immediate requirement here, these will be for residential purposes,” Singh said.

This project is expected to cost around Rs 400 crore and will soon be placed before the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) for approval.

What will be built

• Kalyanwas: The government has 32 acres of land here, where commercial space will also be developed. Around 70 lakh sq ft of space is planned.
• Gulabi Bagh: Around 2.25 crore sq ft of space will be developed.
• Bahapur: Around 4 lakh sq ft of space will be developed.

Singh said the projects will be developed on a self-financing model, with the government recovering its construction costs through the sale of flats and commercial space.

“These projects will be developed on a self-financing model by selling flats and commercial space to private players. The government’s construction cost will be recovered from what we sell. There will be a certain percentage that will remain with the government,” he said.

Singh said officials posted in Delhi often face difficulties in finding suitable government accommodation. “Delhi government residential complexes are not in a very good condition, due to which several officials opt for transfers. We want our staff and bureaucrats also to have good accommodation and living space,” he said.

How the government plans to sell the flats

Officials said the minister has asked the General Administration Department (GAD) to submit its requirement for flats to the PWD.

Once the colonies are redeveloped, the government will advertise flats for sale. The Central government, Central Public Works Department and public sector undertakings (PSUs) will also be able to buy them, Singh said.

“Otherwise, whoever wants to buy it from the market can do so. The market price will be fixed,” Singh said.

“For the portion that we want to give to private players in the open market, we will hold an auction and give it to whoever bids the highest,” he added.

Officials said consultants will be appointed for Gulabi Bagh and Mayur Vihar to prepare the Detailed Project Report, budget estimate, and other aspects of the self-financing model. “Here, three categories of flats — Type II, Type III and Type IV — will be developed, which will take about three to four years,” they said.

Seven more sites identified

Besides these locations, seven more sites have been identified for redevelopment under the model to optimise land use. These include Probyn Road, Timarpur, Sindhora Khurd, Sindhora Kalan and Vikas Bhawan.

• Gulabi Bagh, Sindhora Kalan and Sindhora Khurd colonies are located in North Delhi and comprise around 1,200 Type I, II and III government quarters. 
• Probyn Road and Timarpur, near Civil Lines, have 16 Type V residential quarters and 90 Type III quarters. 
• Kalyanwas has 70 Type II government flats.

“As these are big-ticket projects and cannot be constructed solely through public funds, the government has decided to rope in private players. It will give contracts to private companies to construct houses and office complexes and recover the cost by allowing construction of private offices and retail spaces, and possibly even by selling leftover land parcels to private developers,” officials said.