Gurugram tower where 6 flats collapsed can’t be salvaged, to be razed

Tower D of Chintels Paradiso condominium in Sector 109, Gurugram, where six flats collapsed on February 10, will be demolished on recommendations of an IIT Delhi audit that found structural deficiencies in the building that cannot be safely repaired, officials said on Saturday.

Over 50 flats in Tower D of the complex will be closed and demolished, Gururgam deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav on Saturday said, citing the IIT report. Also, towers E and F will be vacated, and a structural audit of these two buildings will be carried out in the next month, Yadav said.

Two persons were killed when six floors of Tower D collapsed from the sixth floor on February 10, prompting the state government to order the audit, and criminal cases to be registered against the developer and contractor.

The IIT report found structural deficiencies in Tower D, due to which the slab of the sixth floor flat – which was undergoing renovations — collapsed, Yadav said at a media briefing on Saturday. “The repair work being carried out in the flat was not monitored and it was unsupervised. The report has stated that the corroded reinforcements had been painted to hide corrosion. The methodology of repair was also not appropriate and as per the standards. The samples taken from Tower D also found that these had high chloride content and quality of concrete was poor,” he said.

A detailed order for demolition of Tower D will be issued on Monday after getting the report from district committee probing the matter, Yadav said.

“Apart from demolishing the Tower D, we have also decided to get Tower E and Tower F in the condominium vacated, and structural testing will be conducted by IIT Delhi experts,” he added. “The flat owners will be provided rent or alternative flats till the time a final decision is taken with regard to these two towers.”

Towers E and F have shown sagging in some balconies and the floor in some flats has shown distress, he said. Tower E has 28 flats, while Tower F has 22 flats.

Yadav further said that the developer will be asked to get these flats vacated and settle claims of the flat owners in Tower D in a time-bound manner. “There will be three options for the resolution of claims, as first the developer and owners can settle the manner bilaterally. Secondly, the district administration has appointed two evaluators to assess the value of each flat, taking into account the interiors and other work done by flat owners. Thirdly, if the flat owners are not satisfied with the valuation then they can approach the court seeking compensation,” he said.

The owners of Towers E and F will also be paid rent by the developer or given an alternative flat till the structural audit report is submitted by IIT Delhi experts, the deputy commissioner said.

“Ever since the unfortunate incident took place, we have been cooperating with the government authorities and the affected residents in every possible way and will continue to do so,” said JN Yadav, vice president, Chintels.

A resident of the Chintels Paradiso said that they were not fully convinced by the process adopted by the evaluators to assess the value of these flats, as they were not taken into confidence for this. “The valuation of the flats should be done in a manner that the actual market value should be found and cost of internal works carried out by the owner should also be taken into account apart from the appreciation in the rate of property,” said a buyer on the condition of anonymity.