Towers E and F of Chintels Paradiso must be vacated immediately, DTCP tells residents

The department of town and country planning on Thursday issued directions to Chintels India Limited to get towers E and F of the condominium in Sector 109 evacuated at the earliest, as both structures have been declared unsafe for habitation in the structural audit report submitted by Indian Institute of Technolgy (IIT), Delhi, in January.

The department said residing in these towers could pose a threat to the lives of residents and, hence, they must be vacated at the earliest.

On Tuesday, additional deputy commissioner Vishram Kumar Rana, citing the report submitted by technical experts from IIT-Delhi observed that carrying out repairs on towers E and F was neither technically and financially feasible.

he poor quality of construction at Chintels Paradiso in Sector 109 came to fore last year after two women were killed on February 10 following the partial collapse of six floors in tower D.

Soon after the collapse, the state government ordered a structural audit of the entire condominium. In November last year, the district administration deemed tower D unsafe for habitation and asked all residents to vacate their homes.

The order on Thursday by district town planner, Gururgam, cited the report submitted by IIT-Delhi experts on January 29 and said,”There is rapid and widespread corrosion of reinforcement almost throughout the structure. This corrosion is due to chlorides that were mixed into the concrete at the time of its production. The need for frequent repair in the structures, as has been reported by the residents also appears to have been caused by the corrosion of steel reinforcement due to the presence of chlorides.”

A poor quality of concrete has also played a role in the rapid deterioration, the order said. “Given the high chloride content in the concrete almost throughout the structure, a repair of these structures is not technically and economically feasible. In the current condition…the structure is not safe for habitation,” it further said.

A senior official of the district town planning department said,”Directions have been issued for immediately vacating the towers and we will ensure that these are followed.”

Rakesh Hooda, president, Chintels Paradiso residents’ welfare associations,said the government must ensure that a plan for reconstruction of the towers is sanctioned before the flats are vacated. “The occupancy certificate should be cancelled and action taken against all those responsible for this situation. The buyers have invested their hard earned money and they are now forced to live like refugees. Rent must also be paid to flat owners for the period they have to wait to get possession of reconstructed flats,” he said.

Currently, 40 families are residing in towers E and F while Tower D has 28 flat owners, said DTCP officials.

When asked about the matter, Chintels spokesperson said, “At the time of last year’s unfortunate incident, we had offered to relocate residents of towers E and F who had concerns about their safety. We had informed the authorities of the same. However, at that time residents refused to vacate. Now that the IIT report has come, we are willing to relocate them as well and we also are extending our previous compensation offer of 5,500 per square foot to them as well.”

But residents are unhappy with the final compensation package offered by the builder and have asked that they be compensated at current market rates or the buildings be reconstructed and new flats handed over to them.