Seek HC help in 100% evacuation clause: DDA to Signature View residents

The residents of the Signature View Apartments, up for demolition in north Delhi, can approach the high court for a hearing on the vacation clause since the matter now is sub judice, the DDA told the building RWA on Thursday.

The apartment complex in Mukherjee Nagar, built in 2007-09 with 336 MIG and HIG flats, has some construction issues and is up for demolition by the Delhi Development Authority.

The DDA had earlier offered to pay the residents rent only if all 336 flats are vacated. The RWA challenged the condition citing its inability to get all 336 flat owners to handover their keys at once, and requested the authority to bring down the 100 per cent vacation clause to 75 per cent, in the hope that the rest will follow the suit soon.

But since the residents of nine apartments have moved the Delhi High Court and got a stay order on further action by the DDA, the matter now lies with the court, the DDA says.

The RWA President said the meeting was held because the DDA was eager to know the stand of the RWA on litigation and whether they will continue to parley with it.

"They highlighted the weak structure of the building and emphasised on vacating the building urgently considering the series of recent earthquakes," Amrendra Kumar Rakesh said.

He said that the RWA is not a party to the litigation and does not support the litigation in the middle of negotiation with DDA.

Rakesh said that most, if not all, flat owners are willing to vacate the building provided they are given rent. "The condition that all 336 flats should be vacated at once is an obstacle," he said.

The DDA had earlier said the removal of the condition of 100 per cent evacuation was only possible through amendment by the LG office, which is not the case anymore since the matter is in court.

The DDA in Thursday's meeting suggested the RWA to make a representation before the LG or an authority member while allowing the court case to take its course.

The RWA in a statement said that a meeting with an additional chief architect is planned in the coming week.

Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, who is also the chairman of the DDA, had earlier ordered the agency to redevelop the apartments and extend support to the thousands of residents facing "grave danger to life and property."

As part of the rehabilitation plan, three options have been given to the residents, a DDA official had earlier said.

"We have offered three options to the residents one is that we buy back the flats at current rates, second is we reconstruct the flats and offer them rent for the period during which the construction is happening and third, we offer them DDA flats at other locations," the official had said.

A 2021-2022 study conducted by the IIT-Delhi at the behest of the DDA found the building to be structurally unsafe.