New Delhi: Six half-finished residential towers stand behind rusting tin barricades in Delhi’s posh Vasant Kunj, their empty balconies overlooking vacant courtyards and idle machinery, nearly 17 years after construction began. Yet, online property portals still continue to market the Maharishi Dayanand Cooperative Group Housing Society as a premium south Delhi address, advertising “ready-to-move” homes, jogging tracks, sports facilities and round-the-clock security for residents who never moved in.
For residents living around it, the unfinished “forever” project has become a permanent feature of the neighbourhood.
“They started building when I used to live with my parents,” Aisha Bibi, heading home from work, said. “Now I am married and have two kids and the construction is still not complete.”
Instead of becoming home to 181 families, the Rs 300-crore project has become one of Vasant Kunj’s most enduring unfinished landmarks. The unfinished complex is a repository of delayed plans, locked-up savings and decades of frustration. Many who just wanted a foothold in a posh locality have spent the better part of two decades watching their investment remain trapped behind locked gates. A combination of committee wars, member defaults, unpaid dues, court battles, regulatory obstacles and repeated funding crises have repeatedly pushed the finish line further away, turning the complex into an anomaly in a neighbourhood that otherwise raced ahead.
The project, which began in 2009, was originally expected to be completed by 2015. Society members estimate that nearly 90 per cent of the construction work has already been completed. The problem lies in completing the final 10 per cent.
After several roadblocks, many members stopped investing in the project in the last five years.
“Those who did not get any power or position in the committee stopped contributing money,” one of the members said.
For 33-year-old Aisha, the stalled construction has put a halt to her modest dream.
“I had plans to work in the society as a cook when people moved in,” she said. “But that day never came.”
Frozen promises
An old MCD notice from 2025 allowing temporary de-sealing hangs loosely from the entrance to the society in Sector B-4 of Vasant Kunj. Unpainted boundary walls expose red brick underneath. A few construction machines remain parked near the entrance as though workers might return at any moment.
Most days, they do not.
“We sometimes see police or officials walking in and out of the building,” Hassan Ali, who works nearby, said. “Some days we hear machines running and workers inside. Then for months, nothing happens. We’ve been watching this for years.”
Spread across nearly three acres, the Maharishi Dayanand Housing Society was envisioned as a modern residential complex with 181 two-bedroom flats across half-a-dozen towers.
Registered in 1983, it was formed as a cooperative housing society whose members pooled resources to secure land and build homes in Delhi. In 2009, the Delhi Development Authority allotted land to the society in Vasant Kunj in exchange for its land in Vasant Vihar, finally setting in motion a project many members had waited years to see take shape.
The timing, then, seemed ideal.
Vasant Kunj was rapidly emerging as one of south Delhi’s most sought-after residential pockets. Major hospitals like Fortis, prominent schools like Delhi Public School, and high-end malls were transforming the area. Property values were steadily rising.
The housing society’s vision was straightforward: secure a permanent home in one of Delhi’s most desirable neighbourhoods.
Instead, members found themselves trapped in a project that is now too complete to be abandoned, yet too troubled to be finished.
An open patch beside the complex has gradually become an informal parking area where cabs stand in long rows. Nearby, workers spend hours sorting garbage collected from surrounding areas. Residents say small groups often gather around the abandoned towers in the evenings to drink.
“Drivers stop here to rest. People sit here and drink because nobody stops them,” a resident from the nearby Harijan Basti said. “That’s what happens when a place stays empty for years — people start using it however they want.”
Now, around the unfinished complex, Vasant Kunj has continued to prosper. Shopping destinations such as DLF Promenade and Ambience Mall became neighbourhood landmarks. Residential societies filled up and roads improved. Just opposite the project, the Imperial Club of India opened its doors in 2022 despite beginning years after the housing society’s construction had started.
“We have seen new roads, residential complexes and other infrastructure come up around us. We have seen Vasant Kunj grow and develop, but this housing project has remained unfinished,” Amit Jain, a resident of B4 Block, said.
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Inside the complex, a guard spends much of his time sitting beneath a makeshift shelter assembled from the same tin sheets surrounding the project, scrolling through videos on his phone.
“Earlier, some members used to visit,” the guard said, peeking from inside the gates. “Now even they don’t come anymore.”
Committee wars and disappearing money
Long before external hurdles piled up, the project was being pulled apart from within.
According to several members associated with the project, disagreements over leadership positions gradually escalated into larger disputes over finances, decision-making and future contributions. Some are even involved in legal proceedings concerning members classified as defaulters.
“Everybody wanted to become president or get a position in the committee,” a member said.
Another member, who previously served as both President and Secretary of the committee, offered a similar explanation.
“If two people invest money, four others stop investing because everyone wants a position in the committee, and that simply cannot happen,” he said.
The financial consequences were severe.
As nearly 70 members stopped contributing funds, construction slowed. Some cited personal financial constraints, while others withheld payments due to disagreements with the society’s management. The confidence in the project weakened further and the cycle reinforced itself year after year.
“We still need around Rs 20 crore to complete the project,” said Krishan Goel, joint secretary of the committee.
According to members, disputes eventually became so intense that even committee elections stopped since 2023, leaving investors increasingly uncertain about the future of the project.
“We have no clarity on when construction will actually resume properly or when the project will finally be completed,” said a member.
Another investor was more blunt.
“I have invested crores into this project,” he said. “Today I do not even know when it will end. The new building is getting old before it is even inaugurated.”
Courtrooms & construction
The financial troubles soon spilled into courtrooms.
One of the most significant disputes emerged when Khurmi Associates, an architecture, engineering and planning firm associated with the project, approached the Delhi High Court claiming the society had failed to clear payments worth nearly Rs 6.9 crore.
According to the firm, despite years of involvement in designing and executing the project, the society attempted to replace it with another firm without settling outstanding dues.
“Someone from the members hired us, then someone else from the committee hired another company,” Harpreet Singh Khurmi, director of Khurmi Associates, said. “There is a lot of internal mess inside the society, but we wanted our money, so we finally had to approach the Court.”
Then there was an MCD hurdle.
Over the years, committee members repeatedly sought extensions from the MCD as construction stretched far beyond the period originally permitted under sanctioned building plans. Even then, the project failed to meet deadlines.
An unauthorised construction case initiated in 2018 created another roadblock. Parts of the property were eventually sealed in 2023, leaving the nearly completed housing complex locked behind barricades.
In December 2025, the MCD temporarily de-sealed the premises for 15 days to allow maintenance and safety-related work. The society has since sought fresh sanctions and extensions to complete the project, but key approvals remain pending.
“There are still fire safety works, lift installations and related inspections pending. The society has not yet received the required NOCs,” an MCD official requesting anonymity said. “Once they formally apply for the clearances and complete the pending work, our teams will inspect the site and only then can further approvals be considered.”
Even before the housing project formally took shape, it was already caught in a legal battle with the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
Back in 1990, the DDA and Delhi Administration initiated land acquisition proceedings over the same land in Kusumpur, Mehrauli, claiming it was required for the planned development of Delhi under the Vasant Kunj Residential Scheme. At the same time, the society’s request to approve building plans was rejected, leading to a dispute over whether the land could be developed by the society or taken over for public housing.
The matter went to the Delhi High Court, which ultimately set aside the 1990 acquisition notification. The ruling allowed the society to retain the land, which later became part of the Vasant Kunj area where the housing project was eventually planned.
“Legal cases are part of any big project, but what makes a project stuck in time is not just the courts — it is the members and the money,” said a society representative.
The long wait
On real estate platforms like Square Yards, 99acres, and MagicBricks, advertisements continue with descriptions of a housing society that, on paper, appears fully alive.
“The well-designed site is ready to move”, “Jogging and cycling tracks for fitness lovers”, “24×7 security with CCTV and intercom facilities”, “Indoor games and volleyball court”, “Excellent connectivity to railway stations and IGI Airport”, read some of the ads.
But the complex now continues to wait — for money, approvals, court cases to end. And for residents who were supposed to move in years ago.
“We used to wonder what was being built and why it was taking so long,” Amit Jain said. “But after so many years, even our curiosity and questions have faded.”
(Edited by Stela Dey)