Balconies on Tower D of the Chintels Paradiso housing complex in Gurugram's Sector 109 collapsed at approximately 9:30 PM on November 9, as reported by residents to Moneycontrol. They also alleged that the developer of the housing complex has withdrawn the only available buyback option earlier this week.
No casualties or property damage occurred during the incident. Tower D had been closed off, and its surrounding area cordoned off since November 2022 under the orders of the Gurugram deputy commissioner, which likely contributed to the absence of any harm.
This housing complex gained public attention earlier in 2022 when a segment of the sixth floor of Tower D collapsed, tragically resulting in the loss of two lives. Subsequently, in structural audit reports conducted by IIT Delhi, five out of the nine towers in the complex were deemed "unsafe for habitation."
Among these, Towers D, E, and F have been fully evacuated, while Towers G and H still have some families residing in them, posing potential risks to their safety.
"The incident occurred at around 9.30 pm yesterday (November 9) when we heard a loud thud. When we saw we found that balconies of 3rd, 4th and 5th floors have collapsed onto the second floor balcony in tower D," Manoj Singh, a resident of the housing complex, said.
There was no response from the Gurugram deputy commissioner on these developments.
A Chintels India Spokesperson, said, "The authorities have already ordered the residents some time back to vacate the affected towers for their own safety and residents should comply with the orders."
The towers that has been declared unsafe include D, E, F, G and H. Singh said that similar is the condition of other towers that have been declared unsafe but around 14-15 families are still living two out of five towers.
"We want to vacate the flat as it poses threat to our lives but it is hard to manage EMI towards home loan along with the rent. The district administration should either direct the builder to arrange an alternate accommodation for us or the administration should themselves make some arrangement," Singh, who lives in tower G, that has been declared unsafe, said.
Builder withdraws buyback option
Rakesh Hooda, president Chintels Paradiso RWA, alleged that the developer Chintels India Private Limited has withdrawn the only available buyback offer from November 9 citing lack of interest from residents.
"On November 2, the developer apprised us that they have decided to withdraw the buyback option after November 8, 2023 onwards as it cannot be left open indefinitely and also not many residents were coming forward to it. The builder has also said that they will get back to residents on the offer of reconstruction of flats but we are yet to hear from them," Hood said.
He said that the RWA has apprised the district administration about the development. He said that the RWA has also replied to the developer's letter to them and demanded that the builder should provide a contemplated reconstruction plan for discussion with the flat owners, the administration, the residents' body.
He said that residents have also demanded from the developer to "review, revise and reopen buyback option" as per the current market rate.
In May 2023, the developer had offered two options -- one was buyback and the other was reconstruction of flats. However, the builder had withdrawn the reconstruction of flats option in July 2023. In buyback option the developer had offered to buy back the flats at Rs 6,500 per square feet and refund stamp duty charges and interior decoration costs.
The residents had termed the buyback offer "way too low" from the market rates.
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