Swapan Chakraborty is disappointed.
He has been applying for the housing scheme of Delhi Development Authority for years without luck.
Last year, he bought a form for his friend, who got a flat. This year, he bought a form for a friend in Kolkata, who got lucky.
Chakraborty swears he will never buy forms for his friends again.
B B Walecha has been applying for the DDA scheme since the 1980s. This year, four members of his family applied, but no luck.
Walecha, who stays in his house in Noida, has been looking for a more spacious one. ''The majority of the applicants (90 per cent) are investors.
"Only 10 per cent people are needy but they don't get it," he said.
Yet, Walecha doesn't plan to buy another flat in Noida or elsewhere, as he's not sure about buying it from a builder.
Historically, DDA flats were offered at lower-than-market rates and, hence, they provided quick upside.
Abhishek Iyer was allotted a flat in Delhi's Vasant Kunj for Rs 22 lakh (Rs 2.2 million) last year; within seven days, he had calls from brokers offering double the price. Iyer, who stays in Singapore, has retained the flat.
Nearly 700,000 people had applied for 16,000 DDA flats in 2010, the draw for which was held on Monday.
"Whenever something is offered at a controlled price, the response is huge," said Geetamber Anand, managing director, ATS Greens.
"But it will not change the market or prices; 16,000 flats is just a tip of the iceberg.
"There's a huge shortfall."
Anshuman Magazine, MD of CB Richard Ellis, believes this won't have any significant impact on the demand or prices.
"People