New Delhi - DDA has received over 10 lakh applications for the flagship 'Housing Scheme 2014' and it will on Monday conduct a dry run to check its preparedness for the much-awaited draw of lots.

The tentative date for holding the draw of the lots for the new scheme was November 10, but a senior official of the housing authority on Sunday said that the exact date would be decided based on the outcome of Monday's trial.

"We are going to hold a dry run tomorrow to test our preparedness for conducting the draw, like the technological elements involved, so as to mitigate any contingency situations on the day of the draw. "The exact date for it would be decided accordingly," the official told PTI.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for the first time has also planned to webcast the entire event live on YouTube, and so the run serves as a means to test everything in working conditions so as to avoid any glitches later on.

The webcast would be available for "unlimited" number of online users through the YouTube channel.

The scheme, which was launched on September 1 had seen a massive response both online and offline, leading to DDA's website getting crashed within few hours on the opening day itself.

The last date for the scheme was October 9 but the date was extended till October 15 later. Till then 7.5 lakh applications were received. The number rose to 8.5 lakh a few days later as applications from far-flung bank branches reached the DDA headquarters here late.

"The number of received applications has now crossed 10 lakh and that is pretty much the final figure, we would say. People are going online as they can check their application status on our website, where the procedure for conducting the draw has also been uploaded," she said.

The housing scheme offers over 25,000 flats across various categories, ranging from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 1.2 crore.

Although about 17 lakh brochures were sold through DDA counters and the branches of its various empanelled banks, officials ascribed the "lukewarm response" to the scheme to the lock-in period and the nature of flats on offer.

"The primary reason for the not-so-overwhelming response, despite selling so many brochures, could be the five-year lock -in period for the ownership of the flats, which we have introduced for the first time.

"Besides, most flats are of lower range, one-bedroom types, so that could be another factor," the official said. Gearing up for the draw, the DDA has planned to dedicate a server to deal with the anticipated "rush of online traffic" on its official website.

"As per the vendor for the draw, C-DAC again has been assigned the role, but the venue of the draw has not been finalised yet.

It will either be Noida, where the C-DAC office and servers are located, or at the DDA headquarters, Vikas Sadan itself," Director (Systems) of DDA , V S Tomar, said.

C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) had also conducted the draw for DDA's last housing scheme in 2010.

"Both places have their pros and cons, and we want to conduct the procedure in the best possible way.

"If C-DAC agrees to shift its server at the Vikas Sadan, then we can do it either in our Auction Hall or the Conference Hall, both having a capacity of between 200-250," he said.

Tomar said it was decided not to provide a link for the webcast on the DDA website as it would become prone to crash.

As part of our preparations ahead of the draw, DDA has planned to set up a dedicated served around the last week of this month, and it will have load-balancing facilities, to avert chances of crashing of website due to heavy traffic.

The scheme offers 25,034 flats across various categories, viz. - EWS, LIG, MIG, HIG, Janta flats and one-room apartments.

The 22,627 one-bed room apartments was a major draw for the people this year. (PTI)