To keep out ‘tent mafia’, book DDA halls, parks online

“The facility of online booking of open spaces, community halls and parks of DDA for organising religious, socio-religious, spiritual, commercial, circus activities and marriages has been launched. The online booking has been initiated on public demand to streamline the procedure,” a DDA official.

It has been noticed that “tentwallahs” or agents book these facilities in advance using different names and clout. This forces people to approach the “tentwallahs” and pay an exorbitant sum for that space, especially during the wedding season, the official said.

“There have been complaints that consumers are forced to pay huge sums for booking DDA grounds. A committee was constituted to find a solution to the problem. Replacing the manual system with an online facility is part of the committee’s recommendations,” the official said.

DDA offers 154 halls, grounds or parks for social functions at nominal rates. These can be booked by providing documents such as address proof and identity cards.

One can book a site 30 days in advance by paying the required security deposit. People have to submit the documents and pay Rs 50,000 or less for booking a DDA venue, while the security rates for booking the area will be around Rs 1 lakh.