DDA dream house is work in progress

NEW DELHI: If it was a private builder, there would be an outcry. DDA has allotted over 16,000 flats in the city but many new owners may be in for some disappointment. Many flats are far from ready while many are still under construction. A visit to the sites on Thursday was an eye-opener. In areas like Vasant Kunj and Dwarka sector 14, the area around the towers has been dug up with building material lying all around.
In Vasant Kunj, where 2,709 flats have been allotted, a lot of work is still pending. Only the basic structure of the flats is in place in a majority of cases with exhaust fans, fittings, dustbins and other items to be installed inside lying in the open. At some places, labourers can be spotted digging up the area even now.
They admit that work is progressing at a very slow pace. "It will take another year,’’ they say with some exaggeration. "Facilities like the internal roads and underground parking are yet to come up. The lifts are also not functional in most of the towers,’’ said a labourer working at the site. Water and electricity connections are yet to be provided. With Delhi Jal Board claiming that it has no water to supply to these flats, DDA has to figure out how to deal with the situation before the allottees move in.
The Vasant Kunj flats were originally built to house tourists and guests who were visiting the city during the Games. Out of 40 towers that were supposed to be constructed, only half were ready by October 2010. DDA also has to sort out the issue of the flats breaching the height allowed. According to the Shunglu committee report, these flats are four metres – almost an entire floor – higher than what was permitted to be built. This extra construction will have to be demolished by DDA.
``We had come to see the HIG flat that has been allotted to us and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be ready anytime soon. The DDA expects us to pay within 180 days but hasn’t ensured that the flats are ready for possession by then,’’ said Raj Malhotra.
Property agents were seen standing outside the flats and hounding the allottees to strike a deal both in Vasant Kunj and Dwarka’s Sector-14.
In Dwarka, Sector-14, the situation is more dismal. Most of the towers are still under construction and the allottees are being shown just a sample flat as only a small number of flats are actually ready. People carrying out the construction work assure you that all work will be completed in two to three months but this seems highly unlikely going by the state of affairs. "The numbering of flats has still not been taken up as hardly any flats are ready. They have to provide water and electricity connections and doors and windows and sanitary fitting in all the flats. The roads within the complex and the garden area also have to be made but that work will only be taken up after the flats are ready. Right now the entire complex is in a mess and it seems unlikely that it will be ready by this year,’’ said an allottee.
Construction of the EWS flats at Kondli is over but the flats are in a bad condition with labourers living inside many of them. The drains in the areas are clogged with building material and there is cowdung all around the building complex area. Work on installing bathroom fittings is going on and the flats still have to be painted. ``Work for providing water and electricity connections is going on and the entire complex is going to be ready in another three months,’’ said a labourer.
DDA takes refuge in the fact that the brochure of the housing scheme clearly stated that many of the housing complexes are in an advanced stage of construction and are not ready. ``By the time the allottees are ready to take possession in another five or six months, all the housing complexes will be ready,’’ said DDA spokesperson Neemo Dhar.