Once the plan is final, proposal will be sent to Public Investment Board & then to Union Cabinet for approval. Colonies are located in Andrews Ganj, DIZ Area, Pushp Vihar, Timarpur & Lodhi.

New Delhi: The central government is planning to redevelop five more government residential colonies in Delhi to meet the housing requirements of officials in the national capital, ThePrint has learnt.

The five colonies, part of the Centre’s General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) for allotment of flats to government officials, are located in Andrews Ganj, DIZ Area (Mandir Marg), Pushp Vihar (south Delhi), Timarpur (north Delhi) and LodhiRoad (Lodhi Colony).

A meeting to discuss the redevelopment of these colonies was held in the ministry of housing and urban affairs Tuesday and was attended by officials from the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC India, a central PSU), officials said.

In 2016, the Centre had approved the redevelopment of seven GPRA colonies located in south Delhi — Sarojini Nagar, Nauroji Nagar, Kasturba Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Srinivaspuri, Mohammadpur and Thyagraj Nagar.

Speaking about the latest redevelopment plan, a senior ministry official said: “Earlier this year, the ministry tasked the National Buildings Construction Corporation to carry out a survey of flats which were in bad condition in the five GPRA colonies and prepare a redevelopment plan.”

“These colonies were developed more than four decades ago and have a large number of housing units, mostly Type I, lying in a deteriorated condition. We plan to raze these flats, which are mostly vacant, and redevelop the area to meet the housing requirements. NBCC has identified close to 12,000 such flats in these five colonies. So far, no final decision has been taken on these plans,” the official added.

Eight types of flats are constructed under the GPRA, which vary in size — from 34 square metre (Type I) to around 403 square metre (Type VIII) for government officials and Members of Parliament. Type VII and VIII are for MPs and ministers.

A second ministry official told ThePrint that the central government’s plan is to construct over 6,000 Type III and above flats by demolishing 12,000 flats, mostly Type I, in five GPRA colonies.

“The government no longer constructs Type I flats and the majority of flats in these five colonies are of Type I category. The NBCC has been asked to accordingly work on a redevelopment plan,” said the second official.

The redevelopment of the five GPRA colonies is likely to cost around Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore and, once final, the proposal will be sent to the Public Investment Board and then to the Union Cabinet for approval, the officials explained.

“The plan is in the initial stages and details are being worked out. We are also assessing if more government colonies can be added to the list if there is a housing inventory of existing stock that’s lying in bad condition. The NBCC has been asked to explore all possibilities,” said the first official.

ThePrint reached a spokesperson in the housing ministry with queries on the subject. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.