Caught in DDA- Emaar spat,Games Village flat owners wait on the sidelines

“We were told Emaar-MGF would acquire possession of the flats within two months of the completion of the Games — December 14 — following which the company would start handing over the flats to the owners by March 2011. It has not happened yet,and in spite of meeting nearly every party involved in the stand-off,we are no closer to knowing when the issue will be resolved,” Vikas Kapur,who purchased a flat in 2008,said.

A group of flat-owners also met the DDA Vice-Chairman G S Patnaik last week. “We told him we are considering legal intervention in the matter. He,however,told us to hold on for two months,” Kapur said.

Patnaik confirmed this meeting took place,“Two persons came to see me,and said pressure was building on them to take the matter to court. I told them to wait. I also made it clear that the DDA will not concede its responsibility as a regulator,” he told Newsline. Patnaik added that as a majority flat-owner in the project,the DDA also has a vested interest in the project,but they would proceed keeping both their interests and their responsibility in mind.

Flat-owner Nitin Garg said:“We met Emaar-MGF officials too,who told us that the matter is out of their hands. Most of us took hefty loans to afford these apartments.”

Another flat-owner said: “Who are we going to take the matter to court? Emaar-MGF’s contracts with the flat-owners are water-tight — the company says it will hand over the flats within six months after they receive possession from the DDA.” Most flat-owners said the company had informally assured them the handover of flats will begin by March 2011. “As for the DDA,flat-owners do not have a contract with them. Now that they have been given the responsibility by the L-G to examine the matter,on what ground can we take them to court?”