NEW DELHI: Prime minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth around ₹33,500 crore in Delhi, spanning metro expansion, government housing redevelopment and urban infrastructure upgrades.
Among the key initiatives were residential and office infrastructure projects under the redevelopment of seven General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) colonies, a large-scale government housing modernisation programme in the national capital.
As part of the programme, more than 2,700 newly constructed government flats and office infrastructure were inaugurated, while the foundation stone was laid for over 6,600 additional GPRA flats and commercial office towers under the proposed Bharat Business Park in Sarojini Nagar.
The redevelopment programme, approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2016, aims to replace ageing government housing colonies with modern residential complexes while optimising land use in Delhi. The project is being implemented by NBCC (India) Ltd and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
The redevelopment of the seven colonies: Mohammadpur, Thyagraj Nagar, Kasturba Nagar, Sriniwaspuri, Nauroji Nagar, Sarojini Nagar and Netaji Nagar, is expected to create more than 21,000 residential units with a built-up area of about 65.42 lakh square metres.
Of these, NBCC is executing redevelopment in Sarojini Nagar, Netaji Nagar and Nauroji Nagar, while CPWD is handling projects in Kasturba Nagar, Thyagraj Nagar, Sriniwaspuri and Mohammadpur.
The newly inaugurated projects include GPRA housing at Sarojini Nagar and Kasturba Nagar and three towers of General Pool Office Accommodation at Netaji Nagar.
In addition, the foundation stone was laid for eight office towers under the proposed Bharat Business Park in Sarojini Nagar, a commercial development with a built-up area of around 2.17 lakh square metres.
The office complex will include features such as energy-efficient building systems, solar rooftop panels, EV charging facilities and rainwater harvesting systems.
The GPRA redevelopment programme follows a self-financing model, under which commercial space developed as part of the project is monetised to fund the redevelopment of government housing.
According to official data, redevelopment across the seven colonies has so far generated about 3.55 crore man-days of employment.
The prime minister also highlighted broader infrastructure development initiatives in the capital, including expansion of the metro network, deployment of electric buses and upgrades to urban transport infrastructure.
