Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on February 14 ordered a structural audit of the project Chintels Paradiso by IIT experts and also directed that societies facing similar issues should be audited and that builders should bear the cost for it.
At least two persons were killed and some trapped under the rubble after the ceiling of a sixth-floor Gurugram apartment, where renovation work was underway, collapsed on February 10, causing the floors underneath the flat to cave in.
Following the incident, residents of nearby residential societies had also demanded a structural audit of all buildings in the area from IIT professionals.
The incident is very unfortunate, the government will also ensure that such incidents do not happen in future, the chief minister said.
He said that considering the seriousness of the incident, the government is committed to taking strict action against the guilty and any loss of life due to any reason whatsoever will not be tolerated.
He said that the local administration has also been directed to provide alternate temporary re-accommodation to all the affected families of this tower on an immediate basis as these people are scared to stay in this tower, he said.
Apart from this, directions have also been given to get the structural audit of the affected towers done by IITs or any other reputed government institution to detect defects in design or workmanship during construction, a Haryana government statement quoted the chief minister as saying.
The chief minister said that he has come to know that some other group housing colonies in the vicinity have also shown signs of structural damage at an early stage. Therefore, the Town and Country Planning Department has been directed to identify such buildings based on complaints received from the Resident Welfare Associations or any other agency.
The department has also been directed to conduct a structural audit at the cost of the colonizer to avoid any harm to the residents of these colonies.
The chief minister said that to avoid any such tragedy in future, the government has in principle decided that apart from the structural engineers appointed by the builders, the Town and Country Planning Department should also conduct a structural audit by reputed government institutions or by the structural engineer empanelled by them before giving the occupation certificate, the statement said.
Meanwhile, the local residents continued their protest demanding that the builder and the officials responsible for issuing clearances to the building be booked for murder. They have also been pressing for a High Court-monitored CBI inquiry.
Two FIRs have already been lodged in connection with the case.
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