The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has decided to hand over the maintenance work of common areas for all new residential projects under the agency’s Diwali 2023 scheme to the Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWA) within a year of possession of the flats, according to officials aware of the matter.
Till now, DDA collected a lump sum maintenance charge during allotment and maintained the common facilities like lifts, lights in the common area and green cover for around 10-20 years. The authority created an escrow account and maintained the common area services from the interest amount. From now on, it will hand over the maintenance amount balance and the responsibilities to the RWA once it is formed, similar to private builders, officials said.
“The demand-cum-allotment letter will include the upfront payment as corpus fund and monthly maintenance charge for one year. DDA will undertake day-to-day maintenance from the amount collected for one year or formation of RWA, whichever is earlier. In case the RWA is formed before the completion of one year, the balance maintenance fund will be transferred to the RWA registered with DDA. The fund becomes operative from the date the first demand-cum-allotment letter is issued,” said the policy document for the scheme that started in 2023.
The terms also mention that only one RWA will be formed in every pocket and all allottees will have to mandatorily be part of the RWA. This has been a mandatory clause in all of DDA’s housing schemes so far. DDA has built 2,093 flats of different sizes in Dwarka and Lok Nayakpuram under the Diwali 2023 scheme.
Officials said that the maintenance charges were calculated after taking suggestions from consultants based on prevalent rates by other builders, which is around ₹2-3 per square foot/month. According to the scheme brochure, the charges will be ₹2 for MIG flats, ₹2.5 for HIG flats, and ₹3 for super HIG flats and penthouses.
Residents, however, had reservations about the overall cost and planning. “Any larger initial corpus of funds for maintenance and long-term planning is always a better idea. Short term plans have deficiencies in planning and execution. Also, the overall cost for maintenance will be less if a lumpsum amount for a longer period is collected as a one-time charge,” said Chetan Sharma, a resident of Vasant Kunj and founder and general secretary of Confederation of RWAs.
