Residents of the Chintels Paradiso housing complex in Sector 109 of Gurugram, a portion of which collapsed in February 2022 killing two women, said they will not accept the compensation recommended by the revised evaluation report of the administration. They demanded compensation at the market rate.
They claim that the revised evaluation report offers compensation for flats at the rate of around Rs 5,900 per square feet which is “way too low” compared to the current market rate of between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 per square feet (psf).
They plan to meet the Gurugram deputy commissioner to voice their concern.
According to sources, the revised evaluation report has been submitted to the district administration and a compensation order is likely to be issued in 2-3 days. In the revised flat valuation report, the assessors, who were engaged by the administration, have included stamp duty charges and also the money spent on interior work.
Rakesh Hooda, president of the Chintels Paradiso Residents’ Welfare Association, said that in a meeting with the district authorities, the revised evaluation report was shown to residents but it was disappointing that the affected residents are being offered compensation at almost “half the market rate”.
He demanded that the report be revised again.
“The revised report has kept Rs 5,900 per square feet as the base price for deciding valuation of our flats while the current market rate ranges from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per square feet in similar localities. Though, they have now added the stamp duty and other expenditures such as the money spent on interior works in the report, it is still low. It is disappointing and we will not accept this compensation,” Hooda told Moneycontrol.
Calls and messages sent to the deputy commissioner seeking his comment on the issue did not elicit response.
On February 10, 2022, ceilings of several flats in tower D in the complex collapsed, killing two. After the collapse, a probe was ordered and a team of experts from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi was asked to conduct a structural audit, a draft of which was submitted to the deputy commissioner in early November, and the final report on November 8.
Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav had on November 9 issued a demolition order of the tower in question and also ordered evacuation of nearby towers E and F.
The administration also directed the developer to settle the dues or liabilities of allottees or flat owners in the tower within 60 days from the date of issuance of the demolition order.
The district administration had a valuation report prepared by two independent assessors but the residents raised objections saying additional costs such as stamp duty, extra development costs, interior designing expenses had not been included in the valuation of their flats by assessors.
A re-evaluation of flats was ordered and the report has now been submitted to the district administration and is being reviewed.
Residents’ demand
Hooda said residents would meet the deputy commissioner and apprise him about the issue.
“Either construct fresh flats at the same site by demolishing the tower or give us fair compensation so that we can buy a similar unit in the same standard society. The property appreciation cost in the last one year should also be added in the evaluation report,” Hooda added.
Another resident of tower D, Sumit, who goes by his first name and is now living on rent in another tower in the society, said the revised evaluation report was “disappointing”.
“We are not happy with the revised report as it is again recommending compensation at old rates. If you set out to buy 1850 square feet flat in this locality (sector 109) then you will have to pay at least at rate of nearly Rs 10,000 per square feet which amounts to Rs 1.85 crore while they are offering compensation at a rate of Rs 5,900 psf which means Rs 1.09 crore (excluding stamp duty) for a same size unit,” he said.
Currently, 28 families of tower D are living in rented accommodations in the same complex. The developer is paying them Rs 25,000 a month towards rental expenses for a three BHK flat, and Rs 37,000 for a four BHK unit. The 18-storey tower D has 64 flats.
The administration’s take
Sources in the district administration said that an order of compensation will be issued in 2-3 days so that residents can be paid compensation at the earliest. They said that after the final compensation is decided and paid, the process of demolishing the tower may start.
Sources said that in the revised evaluation report, 7 percent stamp duty and interior decoration costs had been included and that raised the cost of the flats by nearly 10-15 percent as compared to the compensation previously recommended.
A spokesperson for Chintels India said, “We are in touch with both the authorities and the residents and are fully cooperating with them.”
Following the collapse of several flats in tower D, a special investigation team was set up to probe the incident; the first arrest was made in December last year. Amit Austin, the owner of Manish Switchgear and Construction, the company that was executing repair work in one of the flats that triggered the collapse, was arrested by police in December 2022.
In November 2022, the affected homebuyers had 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 had set January 6, 2023 as the next date of hearing. The hearing was, however, adjourned on January 6 and the next date of hearing was fixed after four weeks.
The Haryana government transferred the case to the CBI on July 18, 2022. The CBI on Tuesday filed a first information report against Ashok Saloman of the Chintels Group and took over the investigation into the case.
The Chintels spokesperson said: “We have not yet received any official confirmation of this but we have full faith in the investigation by CBI and will fully cooperate with them and the government authorities.”
Also Read: After spending millions of rupees, 200 Gurugram flat owners find themselves homeless
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