Once considered the most sought-after address in Delhi, the Commonwealth Games Village has been reduced to a ghost town with no takers for the 100 flats which have been up for sale for a year. Situated in the heart of Delhi, the township was built by Emaar MGF for the Commonwealth Games hosted in Delhi. However, a series of financial irregularities, faulty design and shoddy construction quality marred the prospects for the township. While around 460 flats were booked by individuals at a premium price, 711 flats stayed with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
In 2012, the offer price was between Rs 3.7 crore to Rs 7.3 crore, but when the DDA auctioned nearly 375 ready-to-move flats in 2014, it was at a whopping price range of Rs 5 crore to Rs 12 crore. Lack of interest from buyers pushed DDA to approach the Centre seeking possession of the flats.
Meanwhile, the rest were given to Delhi Government staff, some were taken by public sector banks and some were kept for bureaucrats, judges, staff and other employees of the state and central governments. But, lack of facilities and high maintenance costs is pushing people away from the village, and those who have bought homes there are struggling hard to sell it.
Residents claim that the maintenance cost has been fixed at Rs 3.5 per square ft, which comes to Rs 9,000-10,000 per month.“No one wants to stay in the village as facilities are very poor and the monthly cost of maintenance is very high. Even for small things like groceries, people have to go far. Since the last one year, we have seen 100 flats put up for sale by both societies and individuals, but buyers are not simply interested,” a top property dealer in Delhi said.
Dealers operating in the capital region also aver that the property is overpriced for the facilities and quality of construction it provides.“People who have bought the flats for Rs 5 crore or Rs 6 crore cannot sell it now for a lower price. Meanwhile, buyers are getting luxury homes with much better construction quality at those prices. So why would anyone be interested in that,” another property dealer pointed out.