The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has floated a tender to select a contractor for the demolition of towers at Signature View Apartment housing complex in north Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar, officials aware of the matter said.
Signature View Apartment housing complex has 336 high-income group and middle-income group apartments. These were declared unsafe for habitation by IIT Delhi following which the demolition orders were issued by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena last year.
Officials said that the contractor will conduct site inspections and detailed surveys to understand the challenges and then determine the possible demolition technique and demolish the complex within a given timeframe.
“The date for opening of financial bids to select the agency will be announced soon,” a DDA official said.
According to DDA's tender proposal, the selected agency will be responsible for completing the demolition of the structures in 120 days after the award of the contract. It said that external services outside the building line, such as sewers, drains, electrical lines, water pipelines and boundary walls shall not be dismantled by the agency unless directed by the DDA engineer in charge.
To avoid damage to adjacent structures and human life, the agency shall be required to hire a proficient consultant with a seven-year track record in overseeing the demolition of multistoried RCC structures, the DDA document said.
The Signature View Apartment Complex was built during 2007-10 by DDA and delivery of flats started in 2012. The housing complex has 12 towers ranging from 6-12 floors. In 2021-22, a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, at the behest of DDA, found that the building was “structurally unsafe”, and suggested that the best option was to “vacate and dismantle” the complex.
Following complaints from residents, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Saxena, on January 24, 2023 asked DDA to redevelop the housing complex and “rehabilitate the residents in the interim”. Saxena, who is also the DDA chairman, has also ordered criminal proceedings against the contractors, construction agencies and also directed a vigilance inquiry to identify officials responsible for the lapses in the construction of these high rises.
According to officials, over 100 families have shifted to alternate accommodations but Signature View Apartment housing complex is yet to be fully vacated.
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