Delhi Development Authority begins bid to hire contractor to demolish Signature View flats in Delhi
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) proceeds to contract demolition of Signature View Apartment despite a high court stay. Built in 2007, the complex faces degradation, prompting a call for demolition. Residents seek prompt action amid safety concerns, while DDA navigates legal proceedings and tendering process for demolition.
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has initiated the process to hire contractors to demolish the Signature View Apartment in Mukherjee Nagar — a residential complex that was declared unfit for habitation in November 2022 — even as a stay on the demolition of the society, as ordered by the Delhi high court last week, continues.
Signature View Apartment, built over 2.16 acres, was launched in 2007, and the possession of flats started in 2012. The complex has 12 towers of 12 and six floors, with a total of 336 HIG and MIG flats. According to residents, the buildings started showing signs of degradation from the first year of inhabitation.
Lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena had in January 2023 asked DDA to vacate and dismantle the apartment complex after an Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-Delhi) report found it unsafe for habitation. After several rounds of meetings with residents, DDA offered to pay rentals for three years, or to buy back the flats from the owners, while it would dismantle and reconstruct the society with some additional EWS flats, as per current norms.
As part of the agreement, DDA gave the residents time till November 30 to evacuate the premises. However, a group of nine residents approached the high court against the timeline. Subsequently, the high court, in the last hearing on March 19, asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to submit the basis on which the buildings were declared dangerous, and extended a stay on the demolition of the structure that was initially granted on November 22, 2023.
HT on June 15, 2023 reported that Signature View residents get by each day by dodging concrete blocks as they negotiate the compound, and keep their valuables packed for an emergency evacuation.
DDA officials said that though the case is still on in the high court, the tendering process to hire a contractor will also take time.
“The LG ordered the demolition in January 2023, and the process of negotiation with residents already took several months. While the case is going on and we have replied to all directions from court, we are hoping that the final orders will come soon. Meanwhile, it will take two-three months to finalise and appoint a contractor. We should also remember that the structures remain unsafe according to the IIT report,” said a DDA official, on condition of anonymity.
The official said that the selected contractor will be given 120 days for the entire demolition process, as per the tender floated on March 23. The demolition will cost ₹3.04 crore, the reserve price quoted in the tender. Demolition firms have time till April 8 to apply for the contract and a pre-bid meeting is scheduled to be held on April 1.
Meanwhile, Signature View residents said that during its general body meeting on March 23, the residents’ welfare association (RWA) had proposed that it will hire a lawyer and represent the people supporting immediate relocation and demolition. However, the RWA resolution was not passed. Now, a group of senior citizens has now decided to add an appeal in the court, seeking demolition.
“We have already lost a lot of time and these buildings are getting worse. Accidents are happening every day and we just don’t want anyone to get hurt. We just want that DDA should start giving rent immediately on evacuation, as was discussed earlier, and complete the reconstruction on time. If that is agreed upon in court, we can immediately start vacating the houses,” said Satish Chaudhary, a resident of Signature View.
RWA president Dharmendra Kumar said, “The RWA will not join the court case since our resolution to hire a lawyer was not approved by all residents. However, we had earlier agreed to shifting out on DDA’s terms. We would just want DDA to start rent immediately.”
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