Excessive Money Demand and Defective Lifts Reported at Sri Agrasen Apartments of Dwarka in Delhi

Excessive Money Demand and Defective Lifts Reported at Sri Agrasen Apartments of Dwarka in Delhi

Case of Sri Agrasen Cooperative Group Housing Society (CGHS) Ltd., Sri Agrasen Apartments, Plot 10, Sector 7, Dwarka, New Delhi 110 075 

By Rakesh Raman

Case Update: September 3, 2024

दिल्ली में द्वारका के श्री अग्रसेन अपार्टमेंट में ख़राब लिफ्टें घातक दुर्घटनाओं का कारण बन सकती हैं

पीड़ित निवासियों की यह भी शिकायत है कि श्री अग्रसेन सीजीएचएस एमसी सदस्यों ने दोषपूर्ण लिफ्टों के उपयोग की अनुमति दी है ताकि एमसी सदस्य उन लिफ्टों के लिए निवासियों से भारी ब्याज के साथ पैसे वसूल सकें जो ठीक से स्थापित नहीं की गई हैं। निवासियों ने यह वीडियो शेयर किया है जिसमें दिखाया गया है कि कैसे खराब लिफ्टों में फंसे लोगों को बचाया जा रहा है।

[ वीडियो: दिल्ली में द्वारका के श्री अग्रसेन अपार्टमेंट में ख़राब लिफ्टें घातक दुर्घटनाओं का कारण बन सकती हैं ]

Case Update: August 18, 2024

As a journalist and anti-corruption activist, I sent the following notice to the management committee (MC) of Sri Agrasen CGHS. Since I did not get a response, I am publishing this case report publicly and again advise the MC to follow the law and stop the alleged irregularities at the Society. The authorities can investigate this case to catch the culprits.

I will soon file a formal complaint at various administrative and judicial forums against the Sri Agrasen CGHS MC so that an appropriate legal action could be taken against the accused and the residents of the Society could live in a peaceful and safe environment.

RESPONSE FROM DDA

In response to the complaint that I sent to various authorities, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) responded on August 18, 2024 with a Twitter message to me. The DDA said, “This is a CGHS plot at Sec-7, where DDA has no role. These apartment at CGHS plots are generally developed by private builders, and the RWA needs to get the maintenance done on its own.”

This is a CGHS plot at Sec-7, where DDA has no role. These apartment at CGHS plots are generally developed by private builders, and the RWA needs to get the maintenance done on its own.

— Delhi Development Authority (@official_dda) August 18, 2024

Note: As the case progresses, this webpage will keep getting updated. So, visit this webpage again. The notice is given below.

To                                                                                                                                                                August 13, 2024

The President / Secretary [ Mr. Manish Gupta / Mr. Ramesh Kaushik ]
Sri Agrasen Cooperative Group Housing Society (CGHS) Ltd.
Sri Agrasen Apartments, Plot 10, Sector 7, Dwarka
New Delhi 110 075 

Copy to: Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS) of Delhi Government and Delhi Police

Subject: Show Cause Notice for Allegations of Operating Defective Elevators, Forcing People to Pay Money with Hefty Interest for the Inoperative Elevators / Lifts, and Other Irregularities

Dear President / Secretary (Sri Agrasen CGHS),

I (Rakesh Raman) am a government’s national award winning journalist and founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation. I run various environment protection, human rights protection, education awareness, and anti-corruption campaigns, and publish digital magazines and research reports on different subjects. Moreover, I have been running an anti-corruption social service “Clean House” for the past 6 years to help the suffering residents of Delhi raise their voice against the growing corruption and injustice in cooperative group housing societies (CGHS).

As I allow the harassed residents to register their complaints to the “Clean House” service through an online form, a resident of your Society Ms. Deepali Khanna (Flat A-25) approached me for help as she has alleged various irregularities in your Society which are affecting her Individually. If these allegations are valid, then as President / Secretary in the management committee (MC) you are responsible for the wrongdoings for which through this notice I am giving you an opportunity to respond. The allegations and details of the case are described as under:

1. The complainant Ms. Deepali Khanna alleges that the MC had decided in an Annual General Meeting (AGM) of 2023 to replace the old lifts with new lifts for all the blocks and members were asked to pay Rs. 15,000 as monthly installments to install new lifts. 

2. Ms. Deepali Khanna informs that it was never decided in the AGM to penalize the members with a whopping compound interest of 2% per month if their payments are delayed. And despite your commitment to install the lifts in 7 months, the lifts have not been installed even after a year while you have made the payment to the vendor.

3. Ms. Deepali Khanna asserts that she has paid all the requisite installments before the installation of lifts. Since her payment for some installments was delayed, you are forcing her to pay an interest of 2% per month arbitrarily on delayed installments.

4. The documents shared by Ms. Deepali Khanna show that she has been repeatedly asking you (Sri Agrasen MC) to waive the interest amount imposed on her as she has paid the installments before the installation of lifts for which you asked her to pay. But instead of addressing her concerns in a civilized manner, you are not responding to her requests. 

5. Ms. Deepali Khanna also alleges that you (Sri Agrasen CGHS MC members) have allowed the residents to use the lifts which have not been fully installed and she fears that the use of defective lifts can cause fatal accidents in the building. In that case, as President / Secretary you (along with other MC members) will be responsible for the loss of life or any other harm to the residents. 

6. Ms. Deepali Khanna has also informed that you have not even made an exclusive Society website – which is a glaring violation of the government directive. You must be knowing that the office of the Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS) of Delhi Government has issued specific directions and it is mandatory to make a Society website to keep all the members informed of your activities in a transparent manner. But you have deliberately defied the government order so that you could run the Society affairs secretly. [ You can click here to read about the RCS directive for making society website. ]

7. Since you have not made an exclusive website to give up-to-date information to the Society members who hold financial stake in the Society, it amounts to a deliberate defiance of the government order which intends to ensure transparency and stop corruption in the housing societies. In fact, the entire purchase process of lifts and the payment terms for the residents should have been on the Sri Agrasen CGHS website. But with your negligence you did not create the website. As a result, conflicts are happening in the Society like in the case of Ms. Deepali Khanna.

8. It is alleged that on an earlier occasion, the Sri Agrasen CGHS MC had collected money from members for the floor area ratio (FAR) construction, which is a dangerous project. But the money was not returned to members as the construction did not begin. 

[ You can also click here to watch a video of August 12, 2024 in which Ms. Deepali Khanna narrates her tale of woe. ]

9. Now, Ms. Deepali Khanna expects you (Sri Agrasen CGHS MC) to waive her interest amount and accept her payment of installments for lifts as the final payment, while your demand of interest amount is arbitrary without informing her beforehand of this sudden penalty. She also advises you to stop using the lifts until they are fully installed and tested to avoid any untoward incident in the Society building.

10. With these details, I am giving you an opportunity to respond to the allegations made by the complainant Ms. Deepali Khanna against you. In your response to this show cause notice, you can add any other information from your side to put forward your point of view. With this notice, you are urged to explain why your case should not be reported to the law-enforcement authorities including the police so that an appropriate action could be taken in this case.

11. Please send me your response (preferably by email) on or before August 17, 2024. If I do not receive your response by August 17, 2024, it will be assumed that you have nothing to say in this matter and I will proceed to take this case forward and approach the police and other law-enforcement authorities with the information that I have. 

You are also urged to inform all the members / residents of Sri Agrasen Apartments about this show cause notice while this case report will be made public on the “Clean House” service after August 17, 2024. 

Most Corrupt MC: If I do not get a satisfactory response from your side (Sri Agrasen CGHS MC), your housing society will be labeled as MC2 (read as MC square or MC x MC for Most Corrupt Management Committee). The MC2 title is an editorial label given to those housing societies in which the MCs do not follow the law and run the society affairs lawlessly. While the law-enforcement agencies are urged to take immediate action against such unruly MCs, the buyers and tenants are advised to stay away from housing societies labeled as MC2.  [ You can click here to know more about MC2 feature. ]

[ Video: You can also click here to watch a related video. ]

Note: This case is part of our “Clean House” anti-corruption social service, which helps the residents of Delhi raise their voice against the growing corruption and injustice in housing societies where millions of people suffer because of rampant corruption and lawlessness by the MC members or the administrators.

[ Complaint: Residents can click here to know the process for filing their complaints at the “Clean House” service. ]

Contact

Rakesh Raman
Editor, RMN News Service [ Website ]
Founder, RMN Foundation [ Website ]
463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4
Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078, India
WhatsApp / Mobile: 9810319059 | Contact by Email