I thought of sharing with my friends and all those concerned about my personal experience with the DDA, New Delhi.
I had booked an MIG flat with the DDA in response to their advertisement in the year 1979. In the year 2000, I came to know that my allotment had matured but I got no information about that? The DDA did not inform me of my allotment and numerous letters and legal notices sent to them were of little use or no use as I failed to elicit response from them. I suspected something fishy in the whole affair and decided to go personally all the way to Delhi to meet the concerned officials and to get first hand information. On reaching the Capital, I just could not break the barrier beyond the front reception and sent back on one pretext or the other! I was determined to meet the top officials of the DDA and bring to their attention my plight.
I had known one Dr S Narayanan, IAS who was the Revenue secretary in South Block. I fixed up a meeting with him and he was kind enough to call up the Vice-Chairman of the DDA Mr P K Hota who asked me to meet him personally the same day within the next one hour. My happiness knew no bounds as I thought I will be allotted the flat immediately upon meeting the Vice-Chairman who happened to be the top most executive in the DDA.
In the next hour, I was in the office of Mr Hota, Vice Chairman of the DDA in Vikas Sadan, I N A; New Delhi. Mr Hota was very kind and ordered a cup of tea for me and heard my full story and sympathised with me finding fault with the DDA for not informing me correctly about the allotment. He called his Deputy who was the commissioner, Housing with the DDA and introduced me as having referred by the cabinet Secretary and that my job should be attended on top priority basis. Mr Hota smiled at me and asked me to follow the gentleman to his chamber in one floor below the Vice-chairman's office. He made me comfortable and asked me if I would like to have a cup of coffee or tea to which I said and thanked him. He summoned his Deputy Commissioner, Housing and told him my case and added that the Vice Chairman had referred me to him and that the job needed high priority. The Dy. Commr smiled and asked me to follow him to his chamber in a floor one level below. He was polite in offering me a glass of cold water and summoned his Asst Commr who asked me to follow him to his room in a floor below. In the meantime, it was lunch time and everyone vanished to fill their belly and I was left alone looking at the ceiling and walls of the Asst Commissioner's office. Soon after lunch, the Asst Commr appeared on the scene and called his officer to help me find my file in the office so that he can put up a note and send it right to the Vice Chairman through proper channels. The officer requested me to follow him to his room which was one floor below and it was a big hall where several officers and assistants were present doing nothing but smoking Beedi. The entire hall was smelling of Beedi and was nauseating. The officer called his office Peon(office boy) to locate my file which had an unique registration number. An hour passed and the peon came back saying that the file was not to be found. The officer exclaimed and asked me if I would go with the office boy to the store room and help him search my file and bring it to him, once located? I was disgusted to find myself falling in heights from the 7th floor of the chairman right on to the ground floor where I was searching for my own file along with a Haryanvi smoking Beedi and talking about the behaviour of the officers towards the lower ranking persons etc.... If only I had greased the palms of the peon with a couple of hundreds, may be the file would have emerged out of somewhere? I had been sent from the prestigious and powerful North Block by none less than a cabinet secretary to talk straight to the Vice-Chairman, I thought my files would be resting on the table of Mr P K Hota for clearance and allotment of a flat! What a sad state of affairs? The file was missing and so were the officers in ranks right up to the Dy. Commissioner. I decided to meet the Vice Chairman Mr Prasanna Kumar Hota , once again to vent my feelings. I went up to his office and narrated the entire episode which he heard patiently and asked me if I would like to have a cup of tea? Tea was a commodity which was in abundance in the premises of DDA along with Beedi for those who liked to smoke that leaf!! When I asked him as to what I should tell Dr Narayanan, the Revenue Secretary, he simply told me to tell him that the officers of the DDA were useless and worthless!! I was shocked to get a reply of this sort from an I A S officer who later on became the Health Secretary to Mr Anbu Mani Ramadoss!! I realised that it was a futile effort and worthless as Dr Narayanan also threw up his hands in despair and asked me not to bring this subject to him in future as well!
I decided to take on DDADDA. I owe my thanks to the powerful RTI act, 2005.
Lokpal Bill, if introduced will also be a powerful tool to pin down the corrupt politicians and babus working for the government. Long live People's movement.. Long live Anna Hazare!!!!
I had booked an MIG flat with the DDA in response to their advertisement in the year 1979. In the year 2000, I came to know that my allotment had matured but I got no information about that? The DDA did not inform me of my allotment and numerous letters and legal notices sent to them were of little use or no use as I failed to elicit response from them. I suspected something fishy in the whole affair and decided to go personally all the way to Delhi to meet the concerned officials and to get first hand information. On reaching the Capital, I just could not break the barrier beyond the front reception and sent back on one pretext or the other! I was determined to meet the top officials of the DDA and bring to their attention my plight.
I had known one Dr S Narayanan, IAS who was the Revenue secretary in South Block. I fixed up a meeting with him and he was kind enough to call up the Vice-Chairman of the DDA Mr P K Hota who asked me to meet him personally the same day within the next one hour. My happiness knew no bounds as I thought I will be allotted the flat immediately upon meeting the Vice-Chairman who happened to be the top most executive in the DDA.
In the next hour, I was in the office of Mr Hota, Vice Chairman of the DDA in Vikas Sadan, I N A; New Delhi. Mr Hota was very kind and ordered a cup of tea for me and heard my full story and sympathised with me finding fault with the DDA for not informing me correctly about the allotment. He called his Deputy who was the commissioner, Housing with the DDA and introduced me as having referred by the cabinet Secretary and that my job should be attended on top priority basis. Mr Hota smiled at me and asked me to follow the gentleman to his chamber in one floor below the Vice-chairman's office. He made me comfortable and asked me if I would like to have a cup of coffee or tea to which I said and thanked him. He summoned his Deputy Commissioner, Housing and told him my case and added that the Vice Chairman had referred me to him and that the job needed high priority. The Dy. Commr smiled and asked me to follow him to his chamber in a floor one level below. He was polite in offering me a glass of cold water and summoned his Asst Commr who asked me to follow him to his room in a floor below. In the meantime, it was lunch time and everyone vanished to fill their belly and I was left alone looking at the ceiling and walls of the Asst Commissioner's office. Soon after lunch, the Asst Commr appeared on the scene and called his officer to help me find my file in the office so that he can put up a note and send it right to the Vice Chairman through proper channels. The officer requested me to follow him to his room which was one floor below and it was a big hall where several officers and assistants were present doing nothing but smoking Beedi. The entire hall was smelling of Beedi and was nauseating. The officer called his office Peon(office boy) to locate my file which had an unique registration number. An hour passed and the peon came back saying that the file was not to be found. The officer exclaimed and asked me if I would go with the office boy to the store room and help him search my file and bring it to him, once located? I was disgusted to find myself falling in heights from the 7th floor of the chairman right on to the ground floor where I was searching for my own file along with a Haryanvi smoking Beedi and talking about the behaviour of the officers towards the lower ranking persons etc.... If only I had greased the palms of the peon with a couple of hundreds, may be the file would have emerged out of somewhere? I had been sent from the prestigious and powerful North Block by none less than a cabinet secretary to talk straight to the Vice-Chairman, I thought my files would be resting on the table of Mr P K Hota for clearance and allotment of a flat! What a sad state of affairs? The file was missing and so were the officers in ranks right up to the Dy. Commissioner. I decided to meet the Vice Chairman Mr Prasanna Kumar Hota , once again to vent my feelings. I went up to his office and narrated the entire episode which he heard patiently and asked me if I would like to have a cup of tea? Tea was a commodity which was in abundance in the premises of DDA along with Beedi for those who liked to smoke that leaf!! When I asked him as to what I should tell Dr Narayanan, the Revenue Secretary, he simply told me to tell him that the officers of the DDA were useless and worthless!! I was shocked to get a reply of this sort from an I A S officer who later on became the Health Secretary to Mr Anbu Mani Ramadoss!! I realised that it was a futile effort and worthless as Dr Narayanan also threw up his hands in despair and asked me not to bring this subject to him in future as well!
I decided to take on DDADDA. I owe my thanks to the powerful RTI act, 2005.
Lokpal Bill, if introduced will also be a powerful tool to pin down the corrupt politicians and babus working for the government. Long live People's movement.. Long live Anna Hazare!!!!
Hi Rajooo:
ReplyDeleteI had the same experience with DDA! I went to cancel my registration as I was moving to US and at first my file was not traceable and after four visits and messages from the clerk, I had tio shell out Rs.5000/ to get my Rs 15000/= back!! I had no choice left, no senior officer would here me and they all said they were helpless till the file was found...the clerk said they were all in the loop and will not intervene! Once I agreed to pay, the clerk got everything done the file was found and also he home delivered the chequeto collect his bribe...we need a Anna Hazare only for DDA!!...CP