Gurugram: Jitters in other societies, calls grow for system to ensure structural audits

GURUGRAM: The collapse of several floors at Chintels Paradiso has triggered a sense of fear among residents of other housing societies and a call for structural audit of buildings.

Many residents of societies in the new sectors said they had lodged several complaints about construction quality in their towers and chunks and plasters falling off the ceilings.

The developer of Paradiso has said a second structural audit of the project will be carried out by one of the IITs and the affected residents compensated. A structural audit of Paradiso was carried out last year following complaints by residents about construction quality.

Sanket Banerjee, a resident of Paradiso, has started a petition at Change.org for an inspection of all flats by a third party.

District town planner (enforcement) RS Batth said a structural audit of the project had been ordered following complaints about construction. “After the complaints are registered, the enforcement team of the department of town and country planning visits the projects to take stock of the situation. If found serious, a structural audit is ordered. Based on the report, the developer is directed to initiate repairs within a time frame,” he added.

But have these structural audits addressed the concerns about safety? Most residents differed. There have been numerous complaints about construction quality, but the repairs carried out following the DTCP’s orders are mere eyewash, the residents alleged.

For instance, the developer had been directed to initiate repairs at a project in Sector 58 on Golf Course Extension Road after complaints from residents. In another housing society in Sector 109, the portion of a 12th-floor balcony had fallen off. “We had also complained about falling plasters from the ceiling and the walls. But the authorities hardly took any action,” a resident said.

In another housing society in Sector 102, the residents had demanded a structural and forensic audit of the society, citing poor construction quality, and issues over maintenance, electricity, and security. The residents had even filed a complaint on the chief minister’s portal against the developer. But things have hardly moved. H-Rera chief KK Khandelwal could not be reached for a comment about the complaints received by the realty regulator regarding structural audits.