DDA to foot bill for common area upkeep

The Delhi Development Authority will make a one-time payment of Rs 10 lakh for every 100 of its flats — or Rs 10,000 per flat —to residents' welfare associations to spruce up common areas of the buildings.

The Delhi Development Authority will make a one-time payment of Rs 10 lakh for every 100 of its flats — or Rs 10,000 per flat —to residents' welfare associations to spruce up common areas of the buildings.

HT Image

Common areas are staircases, shafts and service lanes, which are in a shabby state in most DDA colonies because neither residents nor the Municipal Corporation of Delhi maintain them.

The decision to allocate this amount for 3 lakh DDA flats across the city in the agency's annual budget comes two years after its chairman, Lt. Governor Tejendra Khanna, directed it to spruce up common areas of its residential clusters.

Khanna's directive followed a series of reports in HT from February 22-26, 2010, highlighting the neglect of common areas of DDA colonies. It is only after publication of the reports that the DDA formulated a policy on common areas that year.

“For maintenance of common areas of the flats in future, the agency will pay 50% of the cost if RWAs agree to contribute the remaining half,” said DDA member Jitender Kochar.