Chintels residents to file SC plea, demand justice

Residents of Chintels Paradiso housing society on Sunday said that they have roped in prominent lawyer Prashant Bhushan to file a petition against the developer and the Haryana government authorities.

The residents are planning to seek a court monitored structural audit, a thorough investigation by a central agency along with suitable compensation for the losses suffered by them due to the unsafe buildings.

The residents also held a protest on Sunday and burnt copies of the occupancy certificates of the condominium complex. They, however, said that they are still open to mediation and settlement, provided a reasonable offer is made by the developer.

Six floors of Tower D at the Chintels Paradiso condominium had collapsed partially on February 10, killing two residents. After the incident, residents of the complex have been demanding a structural audit of the buildings, a probe by the CBI and reasonable compensation from the developer. The authorities have also asked the occupants of Towers E,F,G and H to vacate the flats till a structural audit is carried out by experts from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi.

On Sunday morning, more than 100 flat owners also held a special meeting in which the Chintels Paradiso resident welfare association (RWA) executives and members of the legal team discussed the future course of action. “We have roped in noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan to fight our case and a petition will be filed in the Supreme Court by next week. We have passed three resolutions in the meeting,” said professor Lalit Kapoor, general secretary of the RWA.

The RWA said that they will file the petition against the developer and government authorities for failing to implement the construction norms and also not providing any resolution to their problems after the February 10 incident.

Vikram Ghambir, a flat owner, said that in view of the lack of offers from the developer as well as the state government, they decided to seek justice from the Supreme Court. “We are surprised that RS Bhath, who was acting as a nodal officer, has been shifted and now we have no point of contact with the department of town and country planning (DTCP) and government authorities to discuss the matter,” he said.

The home owners also said that they were ready for a mediation with the developer but urged that the compensation has to be reasonable. “We can discuss the matter but a fair compensation should be given to us by the developer,” said a flat owner, who wished to remain anonymous.

“We want the occupancy certificates of the complex cancelled as the buildings are unsafe and unfit to be used. Around 210 homebuyers have agreed to join the legal fight and many others will also join our fight soon,” said Sonam Arora, another flat owner.

A spokesperson of Chintels Paradiso had earlier said that they were fully cooperating with the DTCP to work out rental and rehabilitation arrangements of the affected residents until the structural audit is being completed and necessary repair works are undertaken. He, however, did not respond to HT’s query on the matter on Sunday.