News: Raze unsafe Paradiso towers at earliest, Chintels India told-18-11-2023
: The district administration has asked the developers of Paradiso in Sector 109 to barricade the towers declared unsafe by IITDelhi and start the process of demolishing them at the earliest.
The move comes days after Tower D witnessed its second vertical collapse when balconies came crashing down from the fifth floor to the second. The tower was abandoned in February last year after the living rooms of apartments on five floors caved in one on top of the other, killing two residents. Over the next few months, four more towers were ordered to be evacuated after the IIT-Delhi study found them unsafe for living and said high levels of chloride in concrete had led to the corrosion. These towers were from D to H, which were home to more than 250 families.
A few residents - around 15 families - have, however, been living in towers G and H because they have not accepted Chintels India's compensation offer. Chintels initially asked the residents to choose between a buyout offer at the rate of Rs 6,500/sqft or reconstruction of their flats. The developer later declined to rebuild their flats, settling for a buyout. It recently decided to put the second offer also on hold, saying few residents were interested.
The developer has now informed the administration that it has initiated
talks with a private agency to demolish Tower D. On Thursday, additional deputy commissioner Hitesh Meena inspected the Paradiso towers and ordered that the buildings should at least be barricaded at the earliest.
The safety of residents is paramount. The builder should complete the settlement process with the residents at the earliest. All families should vacate the unsafe towers as soon as possible," district town planner (enforcement) Manish Yadav said.
After the vertical collapse last week, officials had issued similar orders for Chintels regarding the settlement process - a major bone of contention.
The families still living in towers G and H have been demanding that the developer reconstruct their flats in a time-bound manner and provide them rental accommodation until then. Sources in the administration said the builder had been asked to reconstruct the flats
Asked about their immediate plans, a spokesperson for the developer said, "We are now in talks with a company to demolish the towers declared unsafe. We will do what is needed at the moment."
"The condition of the towers is not good. The administration is making every possible effort to resolve the issues of the residents," said Yadav.
RWA members said the administrative officials had asked the developer to maintain the green area for now. People have still been living in towers A, B, C and J, for which no evacuation orders have been issued so farThose living in towers G and H (which have been declared unsafe) were also asked to leave their flats at the earliest. The builder was asked to consider reconstructing the flats instead of offering a buyout," a resident said.
