Govt redeveloping 7 colonies of employees without spending taxpayer money

New Delhi, Mar 7 (PTI) The central government is redeveloping seven ageing housing colonies of its employees in Delhi through an innovative self-financing model that requires no funding from the public exchequer.

Instead of using taxpayer funds, the government has planned to develop and monetise a small portion of land, which is about 69.41 acres or 12.9 per cent of the total project area, for commercial and residential use, officials said on Saturday.

The project covers Sarojini Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Nauroji Nagar, Kasturba Nagar, Thyagraj Nagar, Sriniwaspuri and Mohammadpur, spread across about 537 acres, they said.

Many of the existing residential quarters in these colonies had become old and structurally unsafe, with nearly 40 per cent declared uninhabitable.

At the same time, the government faced a shortage of more than 20,000 homes for central government employees.

The redevelopment will replace the old low-rise buildings with modern high-rise residential complexes, providing over 21,000 new flats along with upgraded infrastructure and public facilities.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate 2,722 of these newly built flats and lay the foundation stone for 6,632 flats under the General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) Redevelopment Plan across Sarojini Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Kasturba Nagar and Sriniwaspuri.

What makes the project unique is its self-sustaining financial model.

The revenue from limited land monetisation is expected to generate over Rs 35,100 crore, which will cover the estimated redevelopment cost of around Rs 32,800 crore.

This means the entire project will be completed without burdening the government's budget, while also having the potential to generate a surplus of more than Rs 2,300 crore for the government, the officials said. PTI ACB DIV DIV