5,661 requests for surrender or cancellation of DDA flats:

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) recieved 5,661 requests for surrender or cancellation of flats alloted to the applicants in housing scheme for 2017, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
"Most of the applicants have not provided any specific reason for surrender but some of the applicants have stated that the built up area of the alloted flats were not up to their requirement," Minister of State (Indepenent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a written reply.
The DDA had received over 46,000 applications under the 2017 housing scheme for over 12,000 flats. The costs of those flats ranged from nearly Rs 7 lakh to over Rs 1.20 crore, a DDA official had said earlier.

Of the total number of flats, around 10,000 unoccupied ones were from the 2014 housing scheme, while 2,000 others were lying vacant, he added.
Puri said the DDA had intimated that a total of 12,553 flats were surrendered by the allottees or cancelled by the DDA under the housing scheme 2014.
To a separate query, Puri said the government has appointed a thirty member 'Central Advisory Council' to advice and recommend it on all matters concerning the implementation of the real estate Act.

The initiative came amid reports of dilution of tough provisions of the Act by some states.
To another query, the minister said the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has intimated that the September 1 incident at land fill site at Ghazipur happened due to "slope failure probably caused by heavy rains and percolation of water inside the dump".

Two persons were killed and five others injured in the incident, Puri added.