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DDA advises Signature View residents to vacate for ‘own safety’, says it will challenge HC’s rent order
There are 326 flats in total in the apartments, of which 110 are vacant. There are around 1,300 residents staying at the apartment complex
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New Delhi
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) advised residents of Signature View Apartments in Mukherjee Nagar to vacate the premises over safety concerns, but did not mention when it would start paying rent, residents said, citing a communique sent by the authority.
According to the letter, a copy of which was accessed by HT, the authority said it also planned to appeal against a high court order on a rental issue, which is further set to delay the redevelopment plan. However, it did not provide specifics. The DDA did not respond to requests for comment.
In the letter dated April 18 and sent on Monday, the DDA wrote: “We request all residents to kindly vacate their respective flats at the earliest to ensure safety and security of their lives as well as to facilitate the expeditious demolition and for start of reconstruction process... It may be noted that while the DDA is committed to complying with the court’s directive regarding the payment of rent, we intend to appeal certain aspects of the decision. However, this appeal does not affect the immediate requirement for residents to vacate the premises as per the current Court order.”
The authority also asked the Residents Welfare Association (RWA) to coordinate with all occupants for vacating flats at the earliest. “Further details regarding the reconstruction timeline and procedures for claiming the facilitation amount will be communicated in due course,” the letter stated.
To be sure, the apartment complex was declared “unfit for habitation” in an IIT-Delhi report in November 2022, following which residents were asked to vacate for dismantling and redeveloping the project. Due to a lack of progress, residents approached the court, which directed the DDA to pay rent to residents. However, the DDA said it would start paying rent when all residents moved out.
The rent issue became a bone of contention between the DDA and residents, who approached the court for relief once again and the court, on December 23, 2024, directed the authority to start paying rent to residents who started to vacate.
There are 326 flats in total in the apartments, of which 110 are vacant. Around 1,300 residents are staying at the apartment complex.
Meanwhile, residents said the letter was “yet another eyewash” by the DDA to stall rent payment.
“If they are really serious about their commitment to the HC order, they should immediately start the procedure and give rent for the 110 vacant flats. They vacated post appeal from VC and lieutenant governor and some after the HC judgment, but now, they are incurring dual costs. It is also not clear what part of the court order DDA will appeal against,” said Gaurav Pandey, general secretary of the RWA.
In the issue, following detailed discussions between residents and DDA, the authority offered two options to flat owners — they could either opt for a “buyback”, which involved selling the flat for an amount akin to its market value or opt for reconstruction, wherein the DDA would dismantle and reconstruct the building and pay rent to flat owners ( ₹50,000 per month for HIG flats and ₹38,000 per month for MIG flats) for three years.
