DWARKA — Asia’s largest residential colony and a sub- city within Delhi — resembles a ‘ ghost town’ these days. More than 6,000 flats in 57 housing societies are lying vacant for five years because the hapless owners are yet to be given possession of their homes.
This gross irregularity comes even after Delhi High Court orders directing allocation of the flats. Some hassled members of the Cooperative Group Housing Society ( CGHS) have taken up the matter with top politicians such as CPI general secretary A. B. Bardhan. The veteran CPI leader, in turn, had reportedly spoken to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on February 11 2008. He has communicated the “ prevailing corruption” in Registrar Co- operative Society ( RCS) offices and alleged a collapse of its administrative machinery.
Thereafter, there have been a series of discussions between Bardhan and Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit. However, after numerous promises and assurances, nothing concrete has been done to bring relief to the owners — who mostly include senior citizens.
Santosh Sakhuja, a 74- year- old widow, is one such harassed owner. She has been making frequent trips to the bhawans and offices in the Capital with the hope of getting her legitimate flat.
“ I have made all the required payments. But, I’m still forced to live in a rented house shelling out Rs 15,000 every month.
I also pay an EMI of Rs 22,000 to the bank. My flat is ready for occupation, but lying vacant for almost four years. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to live in my flat during these last years of my life,” she said.
Sixty- two- year- old Brigadier ( retired) S. C. Arora’s situation is no different. He had purchased a flat in Dwarka with the hope of moving in with his family. But Arora remains a disappointed man. He has been paying EMIs and maintenance charges without any luck.
Sakhuja and Arora are among the 6,000 people who are yet to get their flats in Dwarka. They have been shelling out EMIs to banks to re- pay their housing loans and are also paying house rents for their present accommodation.
To compound their problem, the conditions of the empty flats are deteriorating due to lack of maintenance.
“ It really hurts. I’m living in a rented house because of the huge irregularity in the system.
I pay rent despite owning a flat. The authorities have overlooked court orders and made us helpless. I never imagined that I would have to face such a mental harassment at this stage of my life,” Sakhuja said.
A. K. Bakshi, a CGHS member, said: “ Top authorities should immediately intervene and bring an end to our miseries.” Court proceedings and Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI) probes since 2005 had initially delayed the allotment of flats. The HC had ordered the CBI to investigate matters related to societies that got land in 2000 and thereafter.
The CBI investigations were completed and several court orders directing the allotment of flats have been pronounced since 2007. Residents claim that the CBI has given a clean chit to 99.5 per cent of the members.
On November 19, 2009, Delhi HC directed the allotment of flats to all members, which include charge- sheeted persons.
The court’s observation came since no complaint was received against the public notice issued by the society.
Now, the dubious role of the RCS has come into question.
The registrar — primarily responsible for development of cooperative movement — has failed to show any “ progress and clarity” to resolve the plight of the CGHS members.
“ It is unfortunate that even after court observations and verdicts, not a single society has been processed for allotment by the RCS. Moreover, the timeframe for allotment under various judgments by the HC have been disregarded by the RCS. It elapsed more than a year ago,” Ashok Kumar, 69, a former executive director of SAIL and a member of the CGHS, said.
The members of the CGHS have adopted various methods such as candle light march and hunger strike to be heard. However, even after favourable court judgments and knocking on top politicians doors, they continue to remain ‘ homeless’.
THE HOUSING SOCIETY SCAM
THE CBI during its probe found that N. Diwakar, the then CGHS registrar, had colluded with officials of the registrar’s office, the DDA, builders and office- bearers of cooperative societies in Delhi.
According to the investigators, the scam involved fraudulently reviving defunct housing societies to get land from the DDA at a concession. The CBI registered FIRs against senior RCS officers.
Its probe found procedural discrepancies in old records related to 58 societies. The investigating agency had given a clean chit to 99.5 per cent of the existing members awaiting allotment of flats. Following the CBI’s report, the court directed the process for allotment of flats in these societies.
Source : Mail Today
