News: Being forced to vacate, no clarity, s families in two Chintels Paradiso towers-28-06-2023
Three families of towers E and F are yet to shift out of their flats at Chintels Paradiso, the Sector 109 society beset by structural defects that were detected in audits after a vertical collapse at another building (tower D) killed two women last year.
Two of the families (E-1102 and F-1403) said on Tuesday they were reluctant about moving out due to lack of clarity on compensation offered by the developer for handing over their flats. They alleged that they are being forced to vacate.
The district administration and the department of town and country planning (DTCP) has repeatedly ordered families living in towers E and F to vacate their houses after both the buildings were declared structurally unsafe by experts from IIT-Delhi this February. The administration had also imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC to empty out the buildings.
On Monday, tower F of the society was barricaded by the developer after it was noticed that a balcony of flat 403 was sagging.
Jitender Malik, (60), moved into the 14th floor flat in tower F with his family of three in April last year, two months after the cave-in, to spend his retirement years in peace. Now, he says, he has to move out without any clarity about his home.
“It’s painful to vacate my home without an alternative accommodation. All floors above the sixth floor are in a good condition and that can be checked with a survey, but we are being forced to vacate. I have now taken a flat in Tower C on rent on my own, and I will vacate after my son gives an exam this Sunday,” he said.
Malik alleged it was because of the district administration’s “apathy” and “collusion with the developer” that residents were being told to vacate without a reconstruction or repair plan for the towers declared unfit for living.
Like Malik, Deewanshu Kumar (35) and his family of three moved into their tower E flat in 2017. He says he hasn’t opted for the developer’s compensation proposal and is being forced to vacate the house. “The developer is not providing any alternative accommodations since I haven’t chosen any of two settlement offers proposed by the developer. I will be moving out in a few days,” Kumar said.
“The settlement offers are ambiguous and favour the developer. In the compensation offer, the developer wants us to give up all our rights, including the legal one, on the assurance of 10% payment of the total cost of the flat and the remaining to be paid later. In the second option of reconstruction, there is no timeline and roadmap. How can I make this decision of a lifetime without clarity,” he asked.
Last month, Chintels India agreed to two options – pay the cost of the flat to homeowners of towers D, E and F at Rs 6,500/sqft within four months and refund stamp duty along with the cost of interior work at the house; or renovate/rebuild the buildings according to expert recommendation.
Apart from towers E and F, towers D and G at Chintels Paradiso were also declared unsafe by IIT-Delhi experts in their structural audit report. Tower A also shows signs of deterioration, but experts recommended an annual structural audit for it.
Audit results of the remaining four towers (B, C, H and J) aer pending. Separately, Chintels India had brought in the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) to conduct another structural audit of the towers. The developer had earlier said it was waiting for the CBRI report for a decision on the towers declared unsafe by IIT-Delhi experts.
According to the developer, around 74 flatowners of towers D, E and F have agreed to take the compensation offered and 40 of them have already been paid 10% of the sum. “More flatowners are expected to choose this option,” a spokesperson for Chintels India said on Tuesday. There are 180 flats in the three towers.
When asked about the three families not willing to vacate the premises until they have clarity on the compensation, the spokesperson said: “Moving out of the towers is an order by the administration only for the safety and security of residents. As far as compensation is concerned, we have offered two options to them to choose from. We are cooperating with the flatowners to the fullest,” he said. Gurgaon district town planner (enforcement) Manish Yadav said towers D, E and F must be vacated immediately for everyone’s safety. “Compensation and other related issues are being attended to by the district administration,” he said.
