NEW DELHI, May 24: DDA flat owners in the Capital have blamed the authority for its failure to suitably amend the ``legally defective'' Delhi Apartment Ownership Act, 1986.In a letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Chairman of the Apex Association of DDA Colonies, Gauri Shanker Sharma, has appealed that the Act be amended immediately ``to make it elaborate and effective''.
DDA flat owners maintain that the recommendations made by various bodies, including the one-man commission headed by Ram Krishnan, former secretary to the Maharastra Government, were not taken up and the government kept the amendments in abeyance under pressure from certain vested interests.
The Delhi Apartment Ownership Act provides for complete ownership rights to the allottees/buyers of DDA flats and apartments (as against only lease rights) and the responsibility for the maintenance of the neighbourhoods is transferred to the local residents' welfare associations.
The associations of DDA colonies, however, state that the act is totally ineffective. Due to certain lacunae, they find themselves helpless in realising the monthly subscription from residents that is required for the maintenance of flats or the common areas and to check unauthorised constructions.
Meanwhile, the government's decision to repeal the Urban Land Ceiling Act, 1986, has been hailed by the industry. Delhi Factory Owners' Federation president J.R. Jindal said: ``This step will benefit not only the industry, but the public at large and help the housing sector to come at par with the other core sectors.'' He added that this development would invite private participation and foreign direct investment to meet the increasing demand of houses in metros and other urban areas.
