RWA members quit, Ridgewood to go to polls

GURUGRAM: The state registrar has ordered the appointment an

administrator

in the

DLF 4

’s

Ridgewood Estate

after its

RWA

members

resigned

en masse on October 22 citing hurdles created by one resident, who challenged the

election

process through which the RWA was constituted in 2016.


Ritu Bagai, the complainant, had alleged that the election notice issued by the returning officer (RO) had initially authorised only first owners of a property to vote in the election but later he had accepted a ‘proxy list’ of second owners, who then exercised their right.

Even though the then Ridgewood RWA president, Sanjay Batra, rubbished the allegation claiming that Haryana Registration and Regulation of Societies (HRRS) Act allowed second owner to vote provided they had the authorisation letter, the matter moved from the state registrar to the district registrar and even reached the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

“The notification said only first owners are entitled to vote. The instruction is also in adherence with the provisions of HRRS Act,” Bagai said, who was also one of the contestants in the RWA elections. “But just ahead of the elections, the RO started accepting proxy letters that enabled second owners to vote on behalf of first,” she alleged.

However, the state registrar on October 23 passed an order appointing an administrator to ‘conduct fresh election’ in the society. “I hereby direct the district registrar Gurugram to appoint an administrator of Ridgewood Estate Condominium Association to conduct the election,” the order reads, TOI has a copy of the order.

When contacted, the district registrar firms and societies in Gurugram, Ishwar Yadav said that he had not received any order and hence “could not comment.”

When enquired about the reason behind the en masse resignation, Batra said, “We resigned because of routine harassment and also because our term had almost neared completion. We wanted a peaceful succession to the new RWA. No government authority had rebuked us. We resigned of our own freewill.”