Will the Government Save the People of DPS Housing Society?

The following letter with residents’ signatures has already been sent by post. You may please go through the complete DPS Housing Society case along with the relevant documents at this link.

To
The Registrar Co-op. Societies (RCS)
Government of Delhi
Old Court Building, Parliament Street
New Delhi 110 001
January 2, 2017

Subject: Appointment of Government Administrator at DPS Co-op. Group Housing Society, Dwarka, New Delhi – 110 078

Dear Registrar,

We, the aggrieved residents of DPS Co-op. Group Housing Society, once again approach you through this letter to seek your help to ensure a peaceful living for us – and our children and parents. Although the painful story of the mess persisting over the years at DPS Housing Society must be already in your office records, the plight in the Society is now going from bad to worse.

Among multiple mismanagement cases, now the existence of Society building itself has become a major issue. The building is showing signs of dilapidation and in all likelihood will collapse. Although a massive repair project was carried out at DPS Housing Society around 2010 by the Managing Committee (MC) at that time, the building again needs some serious repairs because that repair project was not handled properly by the MC.

Now again the cement plaster is falling apart and beams are developing cracks. As the supporting reinforcements are exposed to weathering, the superstructure of the building is getting weaker. Obviously, the deteriorating building condition can cause serious mishaps in the Society. There are cases when the cantilevers supporting the balconies collapsed, exposing the entire reinforcements. Similarly, cement grills are decaying, water leakage cases are in most flats, and the general health of the building is in a bad condition.

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But the MC is not taking any interest in getting the building repaired in a professional manner. Reason: The MC President and some of his supporters are linking the routine building repairs with the construction of additional room(s) in each flat. The MC members are misleading the residents with a wrong notion that by expanding the covered area in the flats under the vague FAR rules, the weak superstructure will get strengthened.

Most residents, however, have repeatedly expressed their formal opposition to extended construction because it can cause damage to human lives and property, besides spreading harmful noise and dust pollution in and around the building.

But the present MC – as usual – is trying to distort the facts of the AGM of 16th October 2016 to get the extended construction done by hook or by crook. Such AGMs are totally bogus and do not have any validity, as the said AGM was not even attended by all the MC members and the extended construction point was not among the meeting agenda items.

Although the present MC has resigned without completing its term, the MC President is still trying for extended construction under the garb of building repairs. In November 2016, the MC President circulated a letter saying that he has hired an engineer to assess the structural health of the Society building. But he took this decision in a totally opaque manner, as he did not inform the members about the contact and payment details of the engineer that he had hired, without following any hiring or purchase norms. This shows that the MC President has hidden intentions of carrying out a high-value construction project even when he has resigned.

It is pertinent here to inform you that the DPS Housing Society building was constructed about 20 years ago. The construction work is so poor that it is showing signs of premature aging. It was carried out with utter disregard to specifications, and sub-standard construction material was used in the entire building. The MC in the beginning did not bother to monitor the construction work and the workmanship was also very bad.

Similarly, the subsequent repair work in 2010 was also equally bad, as the then MC mishandled it and wasted the money contributed for repairs by the residents. The poor quality of initial construction as well as the subsequent repair work is clearly visible in the Society building. You can get it inspected.

As the successive MCs have failed to manage the Society work properly and the present MC is hell-bent to execute only the harmful extended construction project, you are requested to take the control of the Society in your own hands.

So, we request you to depute a suitable government official as the administrator in the DPS Housing Society. S(he) should manage all the Society activities including the building repairs that are urgently required. This step is imperative to safeguard the rights to peaceful living for the people and save their money from being wasted in frivolous construction and other projects.

We request you for an urgent and positive action in terms of appointing a government official as the administrator in the DPS Housing Society.

Thanking you

Residents / Members of DPS Housing Society, Dwarka, Sector 4, New Delhi

Copy to:

1. President, DPS Co-operative Group Housing Society, Plot No. 16, Sector 4, Dwarka, New Delhi 110 078

2. Lt. Governor of Delhi, Lt. Governor’s Secretariat (Raj Niwas), 6, Raj Niwas Marg, Delhi – 110 054