Residents of Chintels Paradiso society in Sector 109 of Gurugram, where a portion of a sixth-floor apartment collapsed all the way down to the first floor killing two nine months ago, said they will settle with the builder provided they are “compensated well”.
They said they should either be paid the "replacement cost"— the amount required to buy an equivalent apartment in the same or similar location, or given new flats at the same site after the existing structure is demolished.
Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner (DC) Nishant Kumar Yadav had said on November 5 that tower D, which has more than 50 flats, will be demolished per the report filed by a team of experts from IIT-Delhi. The demolition order of the tower is awaited.
In February, a portion of a sixth-floor apartment in tower D collapsed, killing two women and injuring many others.
Following the incident, a team of experts from IIT-Delhi was asked to conduct a structural audit, a draft report of which was submitted to the deputy commissioner In early November.
On November 5, Yadav said in the demolition order, the builder will be instructed to initiate the demolition process and settle the claims of the apartment owners in a timely manner.
Yadav said the developer and the owners can arrive at a settlement, whereby the builder can either buy back their apartments or provide them an equivalent apartment of similar value elsewhere.
“If the owners and the builder are unable to reach an agreement, then we can consider the report submitted by two independent assessors we have engaged for the purpose. The assessors have submitted a report on the current market price of the flats in tower D. They have also factored in the cost of fixtures and interior decoration done by some flat owners," Yadav had said.
He had added that the administration will rely on the report and settle the matter if some buyers are unable to arrive at an agreement.
Chintels Paradiso RWA President Rakesh Hooda said it was good that things were getting clearer and that the tower made of “substandard quality” was to be demolished.
He added that residents should be “compensated well” so that they can buy an equivalent unit of similar value.
“We are ready to settle, but our demands should be met by the developer or the authorities. They should either give us the replacement cost according to the current price in the area, or they should provide new flats to us at the same site after demolition. In the meantime they should provide us with temporary accommodation of the same standard,” Hooda told Moneycontrol on November 7.
Hooda also said the owners will not accept older ( and lower) prices for their flats.
Currently, 28 families from 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 3 BHK flat, and Rs 37,000 for 4 a BHK unit. The 18-storied tower D tower has 50 flats.
Manoj Singh, a resident, said that the valuation of the flat had to be as per the market rate, and not at the price at which they had bought the unit almost a decade ago.
“I bought my flat in this society in 2016 at a rate of Rs 6,500 per square feet (psf). Today, if you wish to buy a similar unit in a similar complex in the neighbourhood, you have to pay Rs 12,000-15,000 psf. So we should be compensated per current market rates,” Singh said.
Hooda said the district administration should share the valuation and audit reports with the society’s residents.
Gurugram district administration authorities said the audit of towers E and F of Chintels Paradiso was also underway and the report was likely to come out later in November. The society has nine towers.
The Chintels Paradiso incident has raised concerns about the quality of construction of buildings in the society.
Yadav had said on November 5 that the team from IIT had found structural deficiencies in the construction of the tower beyond repair on technical and economic grounds. "Therefore, tower D of Chintels Paradiso society should be demolished," Yadav had said, citing the report.
In a statement, Chintels Paradiso said, "Ever since the unfortunate incident, we have been cooperating with the authorities and also the affected residents in every possible way and will continue to do so."
The incident prompted the authorities to conduct a structural audit of several high-rise buildings in the city.
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