DDA to provide 5,000 houses for Games tourists

In a bid to meet the current shortage of accommodation in the Capital for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Inter-Ministerial Group has given a go-ahead to the Delhi Development Authority’s proposal of providing 5,000 houses to the Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). According to the plan, these 5,000 houses will be furnished by the ITDC and then used to accommodate foreign tourists in the Capital for the 2010 Games.

Thereafter, the DDA will sell these houses through its usual lottery scheme.

Sources in the DDA have said that while they are yet to get an official directive from the Ministry of Urban Development, they are aware of the proposal and are equipped to meet the demand. “We currently have 14,000 houses under construction in Delhi and will definitely be able to hand

over 5,000 houses to the ITDC in time for them to furnish them before the Games. Almost 2,500 of these houses are in Vasant Kunj,” a senior DDA official said.

With a shortage of almost 30,000 hotel rooms in the Capital, meeting the huge gap in accommodation has been a major concern for the government.

The DDA as of now does not expect that the cost of these houses will go up significantly after they are spruced up by the ITDC. The DDA is expected to hand over these flats by March 9 this year, which the ITDC will hand back after the Games.