Gurugram: Town planning dept starts repairs in 40 flats of Chintels Paradiso

The department of town and country planning (DTCP) has started repairing and renovating 40 apartments in four towers of Chintels Paradiso in Sector 109 to shift families whose apartments were damaged when multiple ceilings in Tower D collapsed on February 10, killing two people, officials said Wednesday.

The developer provided the families with temporary accommodation last week in different towers after the collapse, but the residents alleged that the apartments had no basic facilities.

RS Bhath, district town planner, enforcement, said they are trying to address the issues residents are facing and a team of 60 people has started repair works in Towers A, B, C, and J from Wednesday night. “All the work is taking place under my supervision and we will ensure the residents get all basic facilities before shifting,” he said.

Bhath said the department requested Indian Institute of Technology Delhi on Monday to conduct safety audits of the towers that are occupied. “We also asked the developer to provide residents with basic furniture, mattresses, wardrobe, and household stuff so they can start setting up their temporary apartments,” he said.

Officials of the district administration said they are coordinating with higher officials of the DTCP and the chief minister’s office to seek permission for residents to retrieve their belongings from the collapsed tower.

Nishant Kumar Yadav, district deputy commissioner, said that they trying to engage logistics companies to safely retrieve residents’ undamaged belongings. “The process will take some time–till then the building has been sealed and no one is allowed to enter the tower,” he said.

Meanwhile, residents in the temporary accommodation said they were unhappy with the condition of the current apartments, but added that the new apartments that were being renovated seemed to be in better condition. “The apartments need repairs–plumbing and electrical points. Even the plaster and paint need to be redone. My wife, two children, and I are managing in the temporary accommodation with great difficulty. We have been given a new apartment but we will only shift after the safety audit and renovation work is complete,” said Hem Mishra, a resident of Tower D.

Puja Aggarwal, another resident of Tower D, said that her family of four had shifted to her friend’s house on the day of the collapse. “We were called today (Wednesday) and have been allotted a temporary apartment in Tower B. All the work has been completed and labourers are cleaning it. DTCP asked the developer to provide furniture and other basic facilities. We will shift this week,” she said.

Thirty-six families living in Tower D had to shift following the collapse–some shifted to other areas and some to vacant apartments in the society that were in poor state– said one of the residents.

Residents said that they met the local MLA Rakesh Daulatabad, who visited their society on Wednesday, and handed him a letter requesting him to pressurise police to arrest the suspects.

Monu Ajmani, a resident of Tower A, said that the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority license of the developer should be cancelled and their assets should be frozen at the earliest. “As other towers are also in a similar state, we need immediate settlement and rehabilitation of all the residents of the society before another tragedy takes place,” he said.