COVID-19: Centre approves DDA proposal for temporary allotment of land to hospitals

The Centre has approved a DDA proposal for the allotment of land on a temporary basis to hospitals and medical institutions in Delhi to set up COVID-related infrastructure, officials said on Thursday.

The proposal was approved earlier by Lt Governor Anil Baijal, who is also chairman of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), they said.

The health infrastructure in Delhi has come under tremendous pressure during the ongoing second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both government and private hospitals have had to ramp up facilities like oxygen plants and ICU beds to cope with the large number of serious patients requiring hospitalisation.


"The DDA had been receiving a lot of requests from hospitals for the allotment of land on a temporary basis to set up COVID-related infrastructure. The LG approved and recommended it. The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has approved the same," a senior officer said.

The proposal for temporary land allotment was examined by the DDA in consultation with the finance and law departments. It was found that such allotments needed approval and relaxation of the Nazul Rules, 1981 by the central government.

A letter was sent by the DDA to the secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on May 5 for consideration and approval of the proposal, the officer said.

According to the DDA's letter, it has been receiving requests for the last six to seven months from government agencies, private hospitals and charitable institutions for the temporary allotment of its land for the expansion of infrastructure to combat the COVID surge.

These include the Delhi government's request for the allotment of land near the GTB Hospital for establishing an ICU facility and the East Delhi district magistrate's request for the allotment of open ground at the CWG complex for setting up an oxygen generation plant, the letter stated.