Signature View residents in Delhi ‘agree’ with DDA’s deal

A general body meeting of the members of the Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) of Signature View Apartments in north Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar was held on Sunday to reach an agreement on the options presented to them by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

Built in 2010, the apartment complex has been declared dangerous for residential purposes, and ordered to be dismantled following complaints of cracks in beams, walls, roof and balconies, in addition to falling plaster in washrooms and kitchens.

According to RWA members, majority of residents have informally consented to choose DDA’s ‘reconstruction’ option.

“Once DDA sends the agreement copy, each flat owner will consent to one of the two options. We could not reach a consensus on this, but 90% of the residents prefer the reconstruction offer for two reasons. First, buyback option rates are lower than the market value of our apartments. Second, the new structure will be stronger, with more facilities such as a clubhouse, which we did not have,” said Amrendra Jha, president of SVA RWA

Earlier this year, Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena asked DDA to ‘vacate and dismantle’ the 12 towers of Signature View Apartment after an IIT-Delhi report deemed them unsafe for habitation. Earlier, residents rejected DDA’s offer to evacuate the buildings, claiming that the rent being offered was lower than the rates in the area, and that DDA planned to build over 250 additional flats in the same space.

DDA has now provided flat owners with two options. They can ‘buyback’, which means they can hand over the flat and receive an amount comparable to its market value from DDA. Alternatively, flat owners can choose ‘reconstruction’, in which DDA will reconstruct the building while paying a rent until new flats are ready .

On Sunday, flat owners reached a consensus on two of the terms of the agreement shared by DDA last week. One of the offers was to increase the balcony size by two metres for an additional fee. The second agreement was on the number of additional flats DDA would add to the society based on current building standards.

“Residents agree that the balcony size should be increased as it would cost approximately ₹2 lakh more, which most residents are willing to pay. DDA also gave us two options for increasing the number of flats. We have agreed to the one with 168 additional flats,” said Jha.

Gaurav Pandey, general secretary, SVA RWA, said DDA will add 168 flats to the society, including 144 servant quarter units or EWS flats, which will be built as additional towers alongside the clubhouse and community centre. “In addition to the 144 EWS units, they will build 24 more flats. DDA needed a consensus on these two terms, balcony extension and the number of additional flats, before making a final offer,” said Pandey.

According to DDA officials aware of the matter, the final agreement is being drafted and will be offered soon.

“This proposal will be implemented only after each of the 336 allottees has given written consent to exercise one of the two options. Every flat owner will also be required to submit an undertaking and an indemnity bond stating that their flat is free from all encumbrances,” said a DDA official, who asked not to be named.