More cracks appear in Signature View
After the earthquake in Delhi on Monday, residents of Signature View say more cracks have developed in the complex
Dinesh Kumar, 43, lives with his elderly mother in a flat on the first floor of a residential tower in Signature View Apartment, Mukherjee Nagar — a complex that IIT-Delhi in a November 2022 report had declared “unfit for habitation”.
Kumar usually takes the stairs, dilapidated though they are — residents have been told that the lift structure is also damaged and should be sparingly used. However, his 75-year-old mother has arthritis, and can only move out using the lift.
On Monday morning, Kumar was left feeling helpless — a magnitude 4.0 earthquake, which had its epicentre in the Capital, left his entire building shaking. The 43-year-old was unable to exit his flat — he couldn’t decide which was the more dangerous route out of the building: the stairs or the lift.
“Such situations make me helpless, when both lift and stairs are not options,” he said.
The society was built by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), and the possession of flats started in 2012. It was declared unfit for habitation in 2022, and the Delhi high court in December 2024 approved its demolition and reconstruction, directing DDA to pay homeowners rent until the reconstructed flats are ready. Currently, 180 residents still remain in the complex.
However, DDA is yet to pay rent to the homeowners, and officials have stated that the authority may appeal against the order.
Residents alleged Monday’s earthquake caused even more cracks to form, while small pieces of plaster and concrete rained down upon them.
“To me it seems like DDA officials were not honest and serious about rehabilitation and reconstruction… DDA should be held personally accountable if any unfortunate incident happens in the aftermath of something like the earthquake,” said Signature View RWA secretary Gaurav Pandey.
Responding to the allegations, DDA said that evacuation needs to be done within 3 months of the court’s judgment. “DDA has impressed upon the residents to quickly do so [evacuate] to ensure safety and security of all residents in view of the unsafe nature of the building,” it said in a statement.