GHAZIABAD: GDA will spend nearly Rs 418 crore on the reconstruction of 2,004 EWS and 288 LIG flats in the Tulsi Niketan housing complex near the Delhi border.
Developed on 7.8 hectares about 3 decades ago in the 1990s, the township lies in a dilapidated condition over lack of maintenance and repair over the years leading to disgruntlement among residents.
In Feb 2019, the engineering department of Jamia Milia Islamia, hired by GDA to carry out a safety audit of Tulsi Niketan flats, recommended immediate demolition of most of the flats. The Jamia engineers carried out three-level tests, including a structural audit, to ascertain the buildings’ safety and found that 90% of flats were in a dilapidated state while the rest were somewhat exteriorly “maintained but still not fit to live”. Attempts to redevelop the township in 2019, however, failed to cut ice with GDA and residents.
Close to 70,000 people currently live in the complex, which also has 60 commercial establishments.
GDA vice-chairperson Atul Vats told TOI that the board recently approved the proposal to take up the redevelopment work of the township and approved a Rs 418.4 crore budget. The Authority has hired a private agency to come up with a redevelopment plan for the township.
GDA also plans to temporarily relocate residents for two years for the construction—cost of temporary relocation has been calculated at Rs 5,000 per month per household, which will be borne by the developer.
“The redevelopment work will be carried out on a PPP model where the developer undertakes the construction and redevelopment in exchange for a share of saleable commercial and residential area to recover costs. GDA will facilitate the process by allocating land and providing regulatory support,” Vats added.
The total saleable area for the project is 58,500 sqm, with a total land cost of Rs 84.2 crore, combining land and FAR purchase costs. The builder shall ensure a minimum premium payment of Rs 25 crore to GDA.
The financial assessment considers the cost for GH-1 land, commercial land, and dispensary land to be given to GDA, totalling approximately Rs 24.2 crore. This results in a per square metre sale rate of Rs 78,100 for the builder, which translates to Rs 7,260 per square foot.
However, ownership of flats could prove to be a major impediment to the redevelopment plan. In 2019, when GDA mooted a redevelopment plan, it had laid down preconditions that only ownership with registries would be deemed valid.
However, only 10% of flats in the residential society were found to be registered. The rest of the flats were sold and resold multiple times through power of attorney and mostly were not registered. This led to a stalemate between residents and GDA, leading to the plan being placed on the backburner.
