HC slams DDA for not allotting Rohini flats

The Delhi High Court, on Wednesday, slammed the DDA for denying residential plots in Rohini to around 25,000 applicants who had cleared draw of lots, 30 years ago.

The Delhi High Court, on Wednesday, slammed the DDA for denying residential plots in Rohini to around 25,000 applicants who had cleared draw of lots, 30 years ago.

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When Delhi Development Authority (DDA) cited procedural hurdles, a bench of chief justice Dipak Misra and justice Sanjiv Khanna asked its counsel Rajiv Bansal: "Is it fair on your part? These people are waiting since 1981 for their residential plot."

The bench questioned how the DDA could then undertake various other housing projects, carry out draw of lots and even hand over many LIG and MIG flats to cooperative group housing societies in Rohini after 1981. "Shouldn't these people on waiting list have been given priority?" the bench asked.

DDA has been told to begin the allotment process immediately and asked Bansal to take instructions in this regard. "There is something seriously wrong. Where is your infrastructure? What happened to your repeated commitments?" Justice Khanna asked, referring to an assurance given to the court by the DDA on December 16, 2009.

The court was hearing a petition filed by an applicant Rahul Gupta. The 25,000 people were applicants for middle-income, low-income and Janta (poor) category plots of the Rohini Residential Scheme 1981.

Gupta told the court that DDA had done nothing despite court orders for speedy allotment on October 21, 2009 and December 16, 2009 and was "repeatedly misleading the court".

Taking a serious note of the delay in allotment, the court had, on October 21, 2009, restrained DDA from auctioning any plot of land in Rohini, which it had acquired for its residential scheme 1981, till it allotted land to these applicants.

The stay was subsequently lifted following assurances from DDA.