Vasant Kunj’s HIG DDA flats of subpar quality, say owners

The residents’ welfare association of the housing complex in Vasant Kunj’s pocket E-1 wrote to the land-owning agency on January 29 objecting to the water bills it issued.

Almost two years after the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) allotted its High and Middle Income Groups (HIG and MIG) flats in Vasant Kunj, residents are complaining of the lack of safe drinking water and defects in construction.

Residents of the Vasant Kunj DDA complex, who have paid between ₹67 lakh and ₹1.7 crore for the flats, are also citing problems with construction quality. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

The residents’ welfare association (RWA) of the housing complex in Vasant Kunj’s pocket E-1 (which has 1,214 flats) wrote to the land-owning agency on January 29 objecting to the water bills it issued. RWA members said that the bills were unjustified, as the complex is not supplied with treated water from the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and is dependent on groundwater, even for drinking purposes.

“We have paid a huge amount for these flats, but we are not getting basic facilities such as safe drinking water. The DDA has put in place a RO system to treat groundwater for drinking purposes. But it is not safe. We have raised this matter with DDA several times and asked them to provide us with water from DJB. But our pleas have fallen on deaf ears,” said Pankaj Kumar, president of E-1 Vasant Kunj RWA.

In its letter to DDA, the RWA also said the land-owning agency didn’t mention in its housing scheme brochure that occupants will have to pay monthly charges for groundwater.

Gautam Chaudhury, joint secretary of the RWA, said, “The DDA is providing nearby housing societies with DJB water through tankers, but charging residents for the water. But we are being asked to pay for groundwater that is unfit for drinking, and the RO system here is insufficient to cater to the requirement of all residents. All residents have to buy bottled water or have installed their own purifiers.”

The DDA responded to the RWA’s letter on February 9, saying that the complex is supplied with water from tubewells filtered through rapid sand filters and an RO plant, and the bills have been calculated are as per the rates approved by the DDA.

A senior DDA official aware of the development, said the agency has paid the DJB close to ₹6 crore as infrastructure charges for water supply. “We have written to DJB to take over the water supply system for the society. The DDA is regularly supplying RO-treated water to the residents. The bills have been raised for the water supplied to the complex,” he said.

A DDA spokesperson added, “The water bills are in line with other areas of Delhi. We are also maintaining separate booster pumps and overhead tanks for water supply. We are also working to supply DJB-piped water to the complex as soon as possible.”

A senior DJB official, requesting anonymity, said it would be difficult to supply the complex with water because there isn’t enough.“The permission for housing complexes is given to DDA on the condition that DJB will provide water when the supply increases. They have to pay infrastructure charges for the new complexes to get final approval from the municipal corporations. Currently, we don’t have sufficient water to supply to these new complexes developed by DDA. It has been decided that no new DDA housing complex will be approved till we have sufficient water available.”

Residents of the Vasant Kunj DDA complex, who have paid between ₹67 lakh and ₹1.7 crore for the flats, are also citing problems with construction quality.

Madhu Vaid, vice-president of the RWA and the owner of a flat in F block, alleged that the basement parking lot gets waterlogged during the monsoon season. Vaid, one of the first few occupants, said, “It is shocking to see such poor quality construction in the complex, which mainly has HIG and MIG flats. The basements get flooded during the monsoon. The drainage system is really bad,” said Vaid.

A DDA spokesperson, responding to the allegation, said, “We have constructed speed breakers at the entry of the basement and provided heavy pumps for the disposal of rainwater.”

However, Vaid said, that did not resolve the issue. “When we complained to DDA about it, all they did was raise the level of the ramp that leads to the basement parking, which does not make much difference.”