A bit late, but welcome still

Delhiites can’t believe their luck. After living for decades in the shabby, old, and cracking yellow buildings called DDA flats, residents had accepted that this was the best the DDA-flat owners could, or would, get.

Delhiites can’t believe their luck.

HT Image

After living for decades in the shabby, old, and cracking yellow buildings called DDA flats, residents had accepted that this was the best the DDA-flat owners could, or would, get.

“They (the L-G’s directives) sound too good to be true. I would like to wait and watch. It’s too early to comment on these developments,” said Anita Roy, who owns a flat in Mayur Vihar Phase I.

For residents, who have been living with DDA’s apathy towards maintaining its residential builds, the decision took a long time to come.

“This was needed for years. Now, if only they are implemented in letter and spirit and are not just mere words on paper,” said Ranju Minhas, a resident of Masid Moth, a DDA colony in South Delhi where residents have been shelling out Rs 50,000 per family per year on renovation of buildings.

“The intervention will minimise disputes between residents. I hope the decades-old water pipes are changed, too,” she said.

Only problem the L-G has been silent on is the lack of parking facilities and other allied infrastructure in the DDA colonies. But veteran town planner Kuldeep Singh, part of the Hindustan Times panel of experts during the series on DDA flats in February, said it was a good start. “If they have realized their follies and are rectifying them, then there is hope.”

Now that the DDA has been finally forced to turn its attention on its colonies, some residents say it was time to get the most out of it. “We will accept whatever the DDA gives us to make living in DDA flats and colonies more convenient. More emphasis, however, should be laid on security. They should be made gated ones with CCTVs to ensure safety of the residents,” said Divya Kapur, Mayapuri resident.

Amid the revelry, there are apprehensions as well. “Does the DDA have the funds for these grand plans? These are bogus announcements that are means to demand more money from the government which can be siphoned off by DDA officials,” said Gulshan Rai, president of the federation of Janakpuri RWAs.