Gurugram: Valuation agency, engineer finalised for Chintels Paradiso audit

GURUGRAM: The district administration and town and country planning department (DTCP) have finalised the structural engineer and the agency for valuation of flats at Tower D of Chintels Paradiso where a vertical collapse of five living rooms led to the death of two residents.

The audit is likely to begin next week as the order will be issued on May 2.

A DTCP official said the department will also hand over remaining documents to the IIT-D team which is carrying out a structural audit of the society. Residents of the highrise had earlier alleged that the audit was getting delayed owing to non-submission of a few mandatory documents to the IIT-D team.

“The structural engineer and the valuer have been identified. They will visit the highrise society this week along with a team of experts from IIT-Delhi,” deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav said, adding that they have been given the mandate to conduct site visits as and when required to study the structural designs and check if any information is missing ahead of the analysis of the building.

He also said they will also verify structural drawings of the buildings at a defined number of randomly chosen locations and coordinate with the testing agency to carry out a detailed structural analysis.

The team, according to the deputy commissioner, will determine the quality of construction materials as shown in the plan and compare it with the materials used — mainly steel and cement — during the construction. “Finally, the team will prepare a final report on all relevant findings from the work and submit it to the committee,” he said.

Rakesh Hooda, RWA president of the society said, “The state government has delayed the process significantly as more than two months have already passed since the incident. There has been very little progress on the action taken by the administration. The IIT-Delhi is still awaiting the appointment of a structural engineer and testing agency by the government. We haven’t received any communication from any government agency.”

He said the first hearing was held on Monday in the Supreme Court on a petition filed by the residents. “Our case has been admitted and the first hearing was held on Monday. The apex court has clubbed the petition of Yatharth Bharadwaj, who filed it through his father Rajesh Bharadwaj, and other residents. The next hearing is scheduled on May 9”.