More than a month after the district administration recommended evacuation of towers E and F of Chintels Paradiso housing complex in Gurugram, where a portion of tower D had collapsed in February killing two persons, the residents continue to live on the buildings in question.
Residents of Chintels Paradiso have claimed that they are yet to get the structural safety audit report of two other towers ― E and F ― and are living under constant threat to their lives.
Residents said that the report was to be given to them in November this year, but it is yet to happen.
In November, the Gurugram district administration had ordered demolition of tower D of the society after it was found unfit for habitation. The demolition order had also noted that there was sagging in one of the balconies of tower F and other signs of distress in various other flats of towers E and F. As a result, the administration had advised evacuation of these two towers.
Rakesh Hooda, President of the Chintels Paradiso Resident Welfare Association (RWA), said that people are still living in these two towers as there is no clarity on the issue.
Residents wants to vacate their flats only when they get the structural audit reports of these towers, so that they can also assess the gravity of the situation themselves.
“Only three to four families have vacated their flats in towers E and F, and nearly 40-45 families are still living in these two towers, which is dangerous. We cannot leave our flats until the fate of these two towers is decided, and this can be done only after the structural safety report for the said towers is released. We were told we would be provided the audit report in November after it was submitted to the district administration, but nothing has happened so far,” Hooda told Moneycontrol.
He also said that residents are not willing to vacate their homes in towers E and F unless there is clarity on issues, such as who will bear the burden of rent, the fate of these towers, and a fair decision on the compensation.
There are 56 flats in tower E and 60 in tower F of the Chintels Paradiso housing complex located in Sector 109 of Gurugram.
On February 10 this year, the ceilings of several flats in tower D of the complex collapsed, killing two. Following the incident, besides police investigation, a probe was ordered into the matter and a team of experts from IIT-Delhi was asked to conduct a structural audit.
The final report of the safety audit was submitted to Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav on November 8. Structural deficiencies were detected in the construction of the tower and it was also clarified in the report that “repair is not possible on technical and economic grounds”.
Following the structural audits, the authorities recommended demolition of the tower in question, and evacuation of neighbouring towers E and F.
The builder was asked to settle the compensation-related matter with the homebuyers of tower D in 60 days.
Currently, 28 families of tower D are living in rented accommodations in the same complex. The developer is paying these owners Rs 25,000 a month towards rental expenses for a three BHK flat, and Rs 37,000 for a four BHK unit. The 18-storied tower D has 50 flats.
Sources in the district administration said that the structural audit report of towers E and F is yet to be submitted to the deputy commissioner’s office by the auditing agency.They said that the deadline to submit the structural audit report of E and F towers was November 2022.
However, calls and text message sent to Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav for comment on the matter did not yield any response.
RWA President Hooda further said that neither the developer nor the administration has approached them for deciding the modalities of evacuation of residents from these towers.
Another resident of tower F, who wished to remain anonymous, said that there is no clarity over issues such as compensation for the evacuees, the fate of the towers and findings of the audit report. Under these circumstances, vacating the flats would be unwise, he added.
“How can I vacate my flat when there is no clarity on these issues? I will not leave my flat and live on rent until I see the audit report and receive assurance from the administration or the builder about fair compensation,” the resident said.
The affected homebuyers of the Chintels Paradiso society, last month, moved the Supreme Court, demanding their flats be reconstructed at the same site or they be awarded “fair” compensation so that they could buy similar accommodation in the neighbourhood.
The apex court had issued notice to the builder to submit their response on the plea filed by the residents of the housing complex and has set January 6, 2023 as the next date of hearing.
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