The Supreme Court issued a notice to the builder of Chintels Paradiso Society, a portion of which collapsed in February killing two women, while hearing a plea for fair compensation by owners of apartments in the building that is to be demolished and of those who have been asked to evacuate other towers.
The court set January 6, 2023, as the next date of hearing, according to the petitioners.
The apex court said that lawyers of both the parties – the flat owners and the developer – may work out the compensation payable, the petitioners said.
The order is yet to be uploaded on the Supreme Court website.
Ceilings of several flats in tower D of the Chintels Paradiso complex in Sector 109 of Gurugram collapsed in February, killing the two women. The authorities, after structural audits, recommended the demolition of tower D and the evacuation of neighbouring towers.
The affected owners moved the Supreme Court earlier this month and demanded that their flats be reconstructed at the same site or they be awarded “fair” compensation so that they could buy similar accommodation in the neighbourhood.
In their plea, the owners demanded a re-assessment of their properties at contemporary rates, along with the inclusion of other charges paid by them such as registry and extra development costs in the total flat valuation.
Also Read: Evaluation report to settle claims of Chintels Paradiso society to be reviewed, safety audit of towers to be conducted
Serious in nature
“In today’s hearing, the Supreme Court observed that the collapse of the building portion in the Chintels Paradiso society was serious in nature. The apex court has issued notice to the builder (Chintels India Private Ltd.) to submit their response on the plea filed by residents of the housing complex,” Chintels Paradiso residents’ welfare association president Rakesh Hooda told Moneycontrol on November 21.
“The next date of hearing is January 6, 2023. Other parties such as the Department of Town and Country Planning and district administration are also likely to be present in the next hearing.”
Developer of the society Chintels India Private Limited in a statement on the matter said, "We have accepted the notice before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. However, the petition is yet to be provided to us so that we can file our reply.”
Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan argued for the petitioners before the bench of Justice KM Joseph and Justice Hrishikesh Roy.
Hooda said the apex court wondered how a structure that was built recently could collapse.
Currently, 28 families from tower D are living on rent in the complex. The developer pays these owners Rs 25,000 a month towards rent for a three-bedroom flat and Rs 37,000 for a four-bedroom unit. Tower D of Chintels Paradiso is an 18-storey building with 50 flats.
After a portion of a sixth-floor apartment in tower D collapsed, a probe was ordered and a team of experts from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi was asked to conduct a structural audit, a draft report of which was submitted to the deputy commissioner in early November and the final report on November 8.
Following the recommendations of the report, Gurugram deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav issued a demolition order for tower D on November 9 and directed the developer to settle the dues or liabilities of allottees or flat owners of the tower within 60 days.
Also Read: Demolition order of Tower D in Chintels Paradiso issued
However, no deadline was set for the demolition of the tower.
Hooda demanded a re-evaluation of their properties and said owners will not accept older or lower prices for their property.
“We should either be compensated well so that we can buy a unit of similar value or the developer should reconstruct our flats at the same site after demolishing the faulty structure,” Hooda added.
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