The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against officials from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), as well as builders and contractors, concerning alleged corruption and substandard construction practices in the Signature View Apartments project located in Mukherjee Nagar, North Delhi. The FIR alleges criminal conspiracy and compromising the quality and structural safety during the construction of the apartment complex.
The Signature View Apartments, consisting of 336 HIG and MIG flats, were constructed by the DDA between 2007 and 2009 and allotted to residents around 2011-2012. However, within a few years, residents began experiencing issues such as falling debris and overall poor construction quality.
The CBI's FIR names 27 DDA officials, including one former chief engineer, eight superintending engineers, seven executive engineers, eleven assistant engineers, and one junior engineer. Additionally, five builders/contractors, Winner Construction Private Limited and Grover Construction Private Limited, and two testing agencies, Bharat Test House and Delhi Test House, have been implicated in the FIR.
The FIR alleges that the accused DDA officials colluded with the directors of the implicated companies to bypass quality control measures outlined in the contract and CPWD manual. This resulted in compromised quality and structural safety during construction. The CBI alleges substandard construction and the use of inferior materials led to the buildings being declared unsafe for habitation within a decade of their construction. This has purportedly caused a loss of approximately ₹45 crore to the DDA, while providing wrongful gains to the accused.
In 2021-2022, a study conducted by IIT-Delhi at the request of the DDA, found the buildings to be structurally unsafe and recommended immediate evacuation and dismantling. Following this, in January 2023, Lieutenant Governor V. K. Saxena directed the initiation of criminal proceedings against the contractors, builders, construction agencies, and a vigilance inquiry to identify DDA officials responsible for the lapses. He then referred the matter to the CBI for a thorough investigation.
The CBI FIR also references a report that mentioned structural deficiencies in Towers A, B, and C, recommending they be vacated and dismantled. The report further stated that Towers D through L suffer from corrosion due to high chloride content in the concrete, faster than expected carbonation, and lower than expected concrete strength. The vigilance inquiry conducted by the Delhi government found that the concrete used in the structures was of a lower grade than expected. Despite repairs, the structural stability continued to deteriorate, leading to the recommendation for immediate evacuation. Recently, 200 more residents of Signature View Apartments moved out after DDA agreed to provide rent assistance.
