Gurugram DC writes to Centre on compensation for NBCC Green View residents

Deputy commissioner (DC) Nishant Kumar Yadav on Monday said he has written to the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MOHUA) and sought its intervention to get the NBCC to announce a suitable compensation for residents of NBCC Green View condominium in Sector 37-D, which was deemed unfit for living this February.

The residents had submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner seeking his intervention after the developer refused to pay them rent from December onwards, said officials.

On February 16, Yadav had directed the residents of NBCC Green View, which was deemed unsafe last year after a structural audit by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, to vacate the condominium by March 1. He also directed the developer NBCC to provide alternative accommodation to residents till they carry out the repairs, and bear the cost of transportation, shifting and rentals in the interim.

Yadav on Monday said he has written to MOHUA apprising it that residents were unhappy with the settlement offered by NBCC and want a re-evaluation of apartments. “We are trying to get a better value for their apartments and have apprised senior authorities of the same. We will close this matter at the earliest and we will ensure that residents do not suffer a loss,” he said.

Despite repeated attempts, NBCC did not respond to calls and messages seeking a comment.

Yadav further said NBCC India has informed the district administration that it will not pay rents to residents from December onwards as they have offered a buy-back option for these apartments. “The NBCC has already paid rent for four months and they have to close the settlement within a given timeline. They cannot continue to pay rent to residents indefinitely; another proposal is being chalked out and the issue will be resolved at the earliest,” he said.

The owners received the advance rent for six months (at ₹22,000 a month) but on September 8, NBCC wrote to them informing that rents cannot be provided in perpetuity, and they will be constrained to stop rental payouts beyond November 30, 2022.

The communication caused residents to panic, as most of them are retired government employees, who make do with pensions.

G Mohanty, president, association of apartment owners (AOAO), NBCC Green View, said authorities had assured them that rent will be paid on a monthly basis till the matter of refund is settled. “Four months after we were forced to vacate the flats, the developer made an arbitrary and illogical offer of buy back our flats at the same principal amount that we paid while purchasing the flats in 2011, without including any interest, cost of registration, money spent on interiors and other ancillary costs,” he said.

Mohanty said that they have also written to the MOHUA, urging that the developer be directed to continue to pay rent at the approved rate till the matter of buy-back and refund is settled. “We are demanding reconsideration of refund proposal and to include interest, registration charges, stamp duty, cost of interior work and suitable compensation,” he said.

On April 25, residents filed a complaint against the developer with the economic offences wing (EoW) of Delhi Police, which transferred the case to Gurugram police on May 5.

On August 27, the residents wrote to deputy commissioner of police (DCP) to register a criminal case against NBCC, consultant and contractor on charges of cheating, illegal gratification and criminal misconduct.

Police on Monday said that they are conducting an investigation and based on its outcome, action will be taken against person/company found guilty.

Upasna Singh, deputy commissioner of police, said the economic offences wing teams are verifying the facts. “We are awaiting the vigilance report based on which we will take action,” she said.

Randhir Singh, general secretary, AOAO, said before evacuation, NBCC had promised to provide them rental money till the final settlement. “NBCC was supposed to refund money along with interest within one month from the issuance of the order in February. But the offer made by them was so wanting that we could even think of buying another apartment in the area with the money that was offered. The offer was so illogical and misleading that we had to outrightly rejected it,” he said.

Singh said NBCC is not honouring their own assurances and commitment made before evacuation of the society.

Residents have demanded a probe into the poor quality of workmanship and substandard construction of the buildings in the society, rendering them unsafe within a few years.