The Hindu : New Delhi News : Housing societies plagued by `minority rule'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 25, 2006
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Housing societies plagued by `minority rule'

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

ROs are shirking their responsibility of ensuring free polls

NEW DELHI: K. K. Khanna, former president of the Highland Cooperative Group Housing Society in Vasundhara Enclave here, is a dejected man today. In his apartment complex of 76 flats, the elections to the society were held recently with just 20 members being allowed to vote and the remaining 56 being debarred on one ground or the other. And when Mr. Khanna lodged a protest against such "minority rule", the matter was postponed and listed for arbitration on a date by which the elections were completed.

Such incidents are becoming a matter of routine for group housing societies across the Capital. According to Delhi Residents' Front president Sanjiv Kumar, there are numerous such instances where the election process is in a shambles because of the various illegalities being perpetrated by officers of the management committees.

"It is an irony that in a democratic country like India such `minority rule' is being promoted by officials whose job is to conduct free and fair polls," he says.

"The various discrepancies that have surfaced are difficult to remove because the office of the Registrar Cooperative Societies is shrugging off its responsibilities and so are returning officers who don't want to get entangled in any controversy and only want to complete the formality of the election process, no matter if elections are not held as free and fair or lack in letter or spirit of DCS Act, 2003, and DCS Rules, 1973," rues Mr. Kumar. A member of the New Arya CGHS in Rohini, Raj Kumar, while agreeing that violations are for some reason being allowed with impunity, says that in his society the elections were being held despite the society not completing its audits for two previous years.

"The final list of contestants in this society election due on December 31 also contains the names of two persons who have sold their flats on GPA documents long time ago but their membership have not yet been ceased and the list of membership contains names of many persons who have sold their flats long time back," he charges.

In the Sai CGHS at Rohini, its member V.M. Sahni complains that the managing committee has not completed the audit for about five years.

"There is also a complaint of misappropriation of society funds against the officers of the present management committee but still they are part of the election process," he adds.

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