Curation Team
NEW DELHI: Civic agencies will discontinue the supply of essential services such as water and electricity to Signature View Apartments on Oct 13.
MCD held a meeting with all stakeholders and agencies on Monday. It was informed that Delhi High Court on Sept 17 gave an Oct 12 deadline for vacating the apartments.
In the meeting under the chairmanship of the deputy commissioner of the Civil Lines zone, Anshul Sirohi, directions were issued to Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) to complete disconnecting electricity supply and ensure that all connections to the flats are removed by Oct 13. Delhi Jal Board (DJB) was directed to discontinue water supply too.
At the meeting, senior police officers of Mukherjee Nagar police station were asked to help DJB and TPDDL so that no law and order problem ocurs, according to the minutes of the meeting issued on Sept 30.
MCD declared the complex as dangerous to live in last year. The high court accepted it and upheld the single judge’s 2024 verdict permitting DDA to go ahead with the redevelopment.
Dismissing a challenge by Manmohan Attri, who is one of the residents, the division bench said that MCD and DDA had full authority to pass an order to vacate Signature View once it had formed an opinion “that the building is in a ruinous condition or is likely to fall or has become dangerous to the persons occupying it”.
In Monday’s meeting, MCD clarified that “any stay by residents… shall be at their own risk.”
Residents stated that approximately 210 families have already vacated the flats, while others are expected to shift in the coming week.
“After the court’s order, things have started streamlining. DDA is organising camps to accept the documents and assist the residents. We have, however, written to Delhi Jal Board (DJB) for setting up a camp here too for issuing closure certificates and accepting all payments. Their office is in Ashok Vihar, and there is no system for online payment. Visiting the place with documents multiple times is a cumbersome process for the residents,” said Amanendra K Rakesh, president of the RWA.
The apartment complex has 10 towers with a stilt+10 storeys and two towers with a stilt+6 storeys.
It was constructed between 2007 and 2010 and was allotted in 2011-2012. However, within a few years, structural safety problems became evident. DDA conducted a structural audit through IIT-Delhi in 2021-22. The premier technology institute recommended immediate “vacating and dismantling” of the buildings.
