MCD seeks Delhi Police help to urgently evacuate Signature View apartments

MCD urges Delhi Police to evacuate 336 flats in Signature View Apartments, citing a High Court order due to unsafe conditions and imminent monsoon risks.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has written to Delhi Police seeking “urgent evacuation” of all 336 flats in Signature View Apartments in north Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar, citing a Delhi High Court order and the buildings’ unsafe condition during the monsoon.

The high court in January this year upheld MCD’s classification of the towers as dangerous based on a 2022 IIT Delhi report and ordered their demolition and reconstruction. (HT FILE)

The high court in January this year upheld MCD’s classification of the towers as dangerous based on a 2022 IIT Delhi report and ordered their demolition and reconstruction. In a letter to the deputy commissioner of police (North West), the civic body has urged immediate action.

“This is to draw your kind attention to a critical matter regarding immediate vacation of Signature View Apartments… The HC has upheld the MCD declaration that the buildings are dangerous and not fit for habitation and has decreed for its demolition and subsequent reconstruction… You are therefore requested to get the flats vacated on an urgent basis, being a rainy season, to avoid any untoward incident,” the letter stated.

The three-month deadline given by the court to vacate the premises expired on March 23, 2025. Despite this, the flats remain occupied. MCD said notices were served to residents of all towers (A to L).

A senior MCD official, asking not to be identified, said the corporation cannot forcibly evict residents and that police action is required since law and order falls under their jurisdiction.

Residents, however, said there is no clarity from authorities. “DDA held a meeting to start rent, but we’ve received no official communication. We don’t know if rent will begin immediately once we vacate,” said Amrendra Jha, a resident.

Constructed by DDA in 2010, the towers have long shown signs of structural distress. An IIT Delhi audit declared them unsafe in 2022, prompting a demolition order from the lieutenant governor in 2023.