Delhi: DDA to handover flat to family, 39-years after booking
What's the story
A family's tireless wait of 39 years for a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flat seems to be ending soon, with Delhi HC directing the land-owning agency to hand over its possession to the allottee while pulling it up for its "non-caring attitude". The court held cancellation of the allotment of the residential flat to the family as illegal and contrary to law. Here's more.
Details
Delhi resident applied for the DDA flat in 1979
The court said the case revealed a "sordid state of affairs" as DDA has failed to maintain records. The Delhi resident had applied for the flat in DDA's residential scheme in 1979 and was declared successful for allotment. The original applicant, JC Madan, died in 1984 and his wife Kaushalya (plaintiff no. 1) and son (plaintiff no. 2) were pursuing the matter with authorities.
Court's order
Court granted decree in favor of plaintiffs
"The demand-cum-allotment letter has been generated in multiple originals and not a single one of them was sent and delivered to plaintiffs. Thus, the cancellation is illegal and contrary to law," Justice Prathiba M Singh said. The court granted a decree in favor of Madan's wife for a flat in Dwarka's Sector-13 on payment of Rs. 10.16L by them to DDA by July 31.
Files record
Consider setting up online feature to track files' status: Court
The court directed DDA to handover possession of flat to the family within 4 weeks of receiving payment. It asked authorities to send a copy of its order to Lieutenant-Governor and DDA's Vice-Chairman for issuing directions to properly maintain records. The bench also asked DDA to consider setting up an online feature on its portal to track the current status of files and correspondence.
Claims
What were the DDA's claims?
DDA claimed the family had informed it late about the death of original allottee, adding it also sent the demand-cum-allotment letter to their address which was canceled due to non-payment of the amount. DDA also alleged that family hadn't informed it about the change of their address. However, the family claimed that it had informed DDA about the new residential address on time.
Original Record
DDA's original record was absolutely sketchy, says Delhi High Court
The court said DDA's original record was absolutely sketchy and it only contained few pages and there was no other document in it. "There is no method by which a citizen can ascertain as to whether his/her letters have reached the DDA and if so how long he/she should wait for a reply. For an ordinary litigant, approaching court is last resort," it added.