Affordable competition

Developers who have launched projects under Haryana's affordable housing policy are leaving no stone unturned to attract buyers in a slow market. One latest move is to promote their projects to people who have lost out in the recent scheme offered by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) at prices, so they claim, more than 60 per cent lower. But a comparison between the two projects reveals that this is something of a boondoggle. First, the size of the flats in the Haryana project is smaller than the size of the flats DDA offered. Second, the state government has offered private developers subsidies for these projects, which is why they can offer their flats at lower prices, whereas DDA is a government-owned body and builds its own apartments.