NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court highlighted a significant “trust deficit” between the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the residents of Signature View Apartments. The court urged the civic agency to take steps to “establish trust” with the residents.
The Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela addressed the ongoing stalemate where residents have refused to vacate the towers deemed dangerous. They emphasized the need for both parties to seek a resolution and “move ahead” with the completion of the project.
The bench stated, “There is a lot of trust deficit. The residents’ concerns are valid. Trust needs to be built, starting with your financial commitments.” This remark came after the DDA failed to pay rental compensation to several residents who had evacuated their deteriorating flats as promised, which led other residents to remain in their apartments instead of facilitating the reconstruction.
The court directed the DDA to submit an affidavit detailing the status of rental payments to eligible residents. “You are the person capable of resolving this,” the court addressed Senior Advocate Sanjay Jain, representing the DDA, indicating that Jain’s previous experience and ties to the lieutenant governor would be beneficial in finding a solution to complete the rebuilding project.
This ruling stemmed from an appeal the DDA filed regarding a single judge’s decision last year, which approved the demolition of Signature View Apartments located in Mukherjee Nagar but denied the DDA’s request to construct 168 additional flats utilizing an increased floor area ratio (FAR). The single judge pointed out that allowing such an increase would infringe upon the owners’ rights since common areas had already been allocated to them, and no new flats could be constructed without their consent.
Last year, the court also mandated that the DDA pay “facilitation amounts” to the apartment owners until their new flats are ready for occupancy. This decision followed the residents’ allegations of corruption and poor workmanship by civic agencies in the construction of their apartments.
In its appeal, filed with counsel Sanjay Katyal, the DDA contended that the single judge’s interpretation of FAR was incorrect, asserting that the construction of an additional 168 flats is permissible under the law.
The Signature View Apartments complex consists of 10 towers in a stilt+10-storey configuration and two additional towers designed with a stilt+6-storey layout.
