Govt unveiling affordable housing plans in Varanasi as realty prices soar

Varanasi's property prices are soaring as VDA rolls out land pooling, new townships and affordable housing projects to support the city's rapid urban expansion

Leaving behind Lucknow and Noida, Varanasi is becoming the costliest city in Uttar Pradesh (UP) in terms of real estate prices. With Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi choosing Varanasi as his parliamentary constituency, and with the opening of the Kashi-Vishwanath Corridor, there has been tremendous development in this city. Driven by improved road connectivity, growing religious tourism, and the city's expanding role as a regional hub, people from across the country are now willing to have their dream house in Varanasi, aka Kashi.

 

With the demand for residential and commercial land in the holy city rising sharply, Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) has decided to launch new schemes. According to officials, Kashi needs decentralised growth centres in semi-urban areas to decongest the core city. In line with PM Modi's vision of developing it as a model city that blends heritage with modern infrastructure, and under the direction of UP Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath for planned urban growth, VDA has for the first time approved a “Land Pooling Policy” for the city.

 

 

The policy has already pooled in more than 60 acres of land so far.

 

Alongside this, township projects such as Anand Kashi at Kallipur, Rudra Vihar at Marhni, and Sports City at Ganjari — together spanning a total of more than 500 acres — are being developed in phases to provide planned housing and commercial space, and to serve as decentralised growth centres away from the congested city core.

 

Officials say this approach also aligns with the Regional Development Plan formulated by the NITI Aayog for the Kashi Vindhya Region. This Plan has suggested 10 new townships across different themes for the region. All these townships will be developed around a Kashi theme, with sectors having Vedic names to give the sites cultural relevance and rootedness in the city's identity.

 

Anand Kashi, in particular, is envisioned as Varanasi’s next-generation mixed-use urban growth hub, designed to decentralise the city’s future expansion while strengthening tourism, commerce, public infrastructure, and quality of life.

 

Once RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) registration is completed, sale registrations for Anand Kashi — VDA’s first township under this initiative — are expected to begin by end-August or September. VDA’s jurisdiction has expanded significantly and now spans across three districts — Varanasi, Chandauli, and Mirzapur — covering over 800 villages in addition to the Nagar Nigam area.

 

Also, VDA is planning an Aero City and a Medi-City as dedicated hubs for business and institutions. These plans are also being linked to the larger Kashi Vindhya Region Economic Master Plan, which addresses logistics, tourism-based business, and industrial corridors for the entire region.

 

With VDA recognising that Varanasi has become one of the costliest cities in UP for buying a home, it is addressing this on multiple fronts, in line with the PM Awas Yojana vision of housing for all. First, VDA is preparing a detailed project report for over 1,000 flats for economically weaker and lower-income families.

 

Second, the new Land Pooling Policy will bring more land into the market for planned development, which should help moderate prices over time by increasing supply, instead of leaving only a few pockets of land available at high prices.

 

Third, under a redevelopment policy recently approved by the state government, VDA is taking up old, underutilised housing schemes for redevelopment to achieve a higher floor area ratio (FAR), unlocking additional housing stock on already-developed land within the city. VDA’s larger township projects — Anand Kashi, Rudra Vihar, and Sports City — are also designed to include a mix of housing types, so that new developments are not limited to the premium segment alone. 

Building blocks

 

• VDA has pooled in more than 60 acres of land under its maiden ‘Land Pooling Policy’
• Township projects of more than 500 acres are being developed for planned housing and commercial space
• An Aero City and a Medi-City are being planned as dedicated hubs for business and institutions
• Authority preparing a detailed project report for over 1,000 flats for economically weaker and lower-income families