New Delhi: New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) issued a fresh public notice on Tuesday asking residents of the Palika Dham complex near Gole Market to vacate the premises immediately, declaring the building unsafe for living.The notice, signed by the joint director of NDMC, set March 7 as the deadline for vacating the premises.“This is to bring into public notice that the structure is dilapidated and not at all suitable for living. We urge all residents of Palika Dham to support and cooperate with the administration in getting the premises vacated with immediate effect and save themselves from any risk,” the circular said.In a separate circular, NDMC announced bidding dates for alternative municipal quarters for eligible Palika Dham residents who vacate the complex. Type I and Type II quarters across various NDMC residential complexes are being offered on a normal licence fee to facilitate relocation. The last date for bidding is March 7. The circular received a mixed response until March 3. Not all the eligible residents turned up to bid for an alternative accommodation.The latest directive comes nearly six months after NDMC issued a similar order. At that time, residents had resisted the move, and later assurances were given by the council that only repair work would be done and that sanitation workers would not be forced to leave their accommodation. Palika Dham comprises 122 flats, of which 82 are occupied. The complex, built in 1974, is a brick masonry structure. Officials said that a structural analysis report of the council advised residents to vacate the premises. “In July also, the administration offered alternative accommodation in Type II flats at Sarojini Nagar and Lodhi Road to the employees residing in Type I flats and working in NDMC’s sanitation and health departments,” an official said.“The structural assessment has found the buildings to be in a dangerous condition, necessitating immediate evacuation in the interest of safety, and no question of extending the deadline arises. After March 7, we will start action in a phased manner, first targeting flats allegedly occupied illegally by staff members even after retirement. They were already served eviction notices.”In July, NDMC initiated measures against unsafe buildings that are over 50 years old in Lutyens’ Delhi, leading to the evacuation of residential complexes at Pandara Park and Prithvi Raj Lane. Notices were also issued to the Palika Dham residents at the time.The residents’ welfare association (RWA) questioned NDMC’s intentions, alleging that the council wants to construct Type III or Type IV high-rise buildings at the site, which could reduce the chances of return for the existing residents. The RWA members said the complex needs repairs, not complete reconstruction, and claimed that the evacuation notice was a strategy to clear the site.After the second order on Tuesday, some residents reiterated that they would not vacate the complex and conveyed their position to NDMC members. “We were asked not to vacate the complex, and we will maintain that,” said a resident on the condition of anonymity.
