Curation Team
NEW DELHI: Residents of Signature View Apartments in north Delhi who haven’t yet vacated the demolition-headed complex submitted a representation to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi recently requesting more time to leave the premises.
The residents’ welfare association of the Mukherjee Nagar complex said that the apartment occupants were given a deadline of Aug 10-20 for the disconnection of all civic services. Facing difficulty in immediately finding alternative rented accommodation, the RWA members have requested time till Oct 1 to vacate the complex.
In its letter to the deputy commissioner of MCDs’ Civil Lines zone, the RWA said, “Through various letters, the last being on April 24, RWA demanded 60 days’ time for the vacation of flats. This was agreed to by Delhi Development Authority and in its SOP issued on May 1, it specified this much time to vacate the flats. Not only this, DDA‘s own agenda proposal for its meeting also recorded the vacation date to be Sept 30.”
Amarendra Kumar Rakesh, RWA president, claimed that the residents were distressed and helpless with this sudden instruction of MCD to public utility providers (Tata Power, Delhi Jal Board, Indraprastha Gas, etc.) to issue disconnection notices. “We have requested that such actions be deferred until the beginning of Oct, allowing residents to complete the vacating process in a dignified manner,” he said.
The deferral will help residents locate suitable accommodation, said RWA members. One of them said, “We remain committed to full compliance and are seeking support in facilitating a smooth transition.”
Residents pointed out that DDA started paying compensatory rent from Aug 6 to 56 occupants who vacated prior to the Dec 2024 court order. Due to a manpower shortage, it is apparently no longer accepting documents from other occupants for rent agreements. “DDA itself needs time to take over 140 vacant flats of the 336,” claimed Gaurav Pandey, RWA secretary.
On Aug 7, a group of residents approached the high court on the matter. The court restrained MCD and DDA from taking coercive action against nine flat owners until Aug 25. It also stated that the owners/occupants would continue staying there at their own risk and in case, during this period, any mishap took place, it was the occupants/owners of the flats who would be responsible, not DDA or MCD or any govt agency.
The 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 allotted to residents in 2011-2012. However, within a few years, residents were alarmed about the structural safety of the buildings. DDA conducted a structural audit through IIT-Delhi in 2021-22 and the latter recommended the immediate “vacating and dismantling” of the buildings.
