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Adjacent high-rises causing cracks in walls, allege Panchkula residents
On tenterhooks about the concrete walls giving way and tumbling down, Panchkula residents have been raising voice against vertical growth in residential dwellings with the government, but without much hope, as it itself allowed four-storey buildings through a policy change in 2019
Rampant growth of high-rise buildings in residential sectors is shaking the foundation of decades-old adjacent houses, leading to disturbing, serpentine cracks in their walls.
On tenterhooks about the concrete walls giving way and tumbling down, residents have been raising voice against vertical growth in residential dwellings with the government, but without much hope, as it itself allowed four-storey buildings through a policy change in 2019.
Pawan Behal, an IT professional who has been living in Sector 6 since 2005, said he was now mulling over filing a suit in the Punjab and Haryana high court after cracks appeared in his entire house shortly after the construction of a stilt plus four-storey building in his neighbourhood.
“The house is 20-25 years old and never developed any cracks. But with the high-rise building coming up next to our house, every week, troublesome cracks show up and are widening with passing time. It is all because of the construction pattern,” he alleged.
Behal had earlier written to the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) about the issue, after which the construction stopped twice, but continued after the government policy went through. “The court is our last hope,” he said.
He, however, is not the only one vexed by the changes to the Haryana Building Code, allowing fourth floors.
Manoj Gupta, another resident living in the vicinity of a high-rise building in Sector 6, shared the sad state of his house, saying nearly every wall has developed cracks.
A chartered accountant by profession, he spent his life’s savings to purchase the house in one of the most prime sectors back in 2018.
“I kept complaining to HSVP and estate officers. They got the construction stopped once, but it was allowed after the government passed the new building policy. Last Sunday, a new crack appeared in a wall. The damage has been done,” he said.
Gupta questioned the government’s move of allowing construction of stilt plus four storey buildings in old sectors, without giving a thought about the limited infrastructure.
“There is a business lobby behind it,” another resident alleged, highlighting that the Chandimandir Cantt is a stone’s throw from the sector. “Won’t it be a security threat?” he asked.
Mamta Verma of Sector 8, meanwhile, said she has even considered moving out of her house that she has been residing in since 1996. “How much money can you spend on repairing cracks, seepage or broken floors? Since the construction of a multi-storey building began, the connecting wall has developed cracks multiple times. We have also repaired it several times.”
‘Policy applicable across Haryana’
Addressing the issue, HSVP estate officer Gagan Deep Singh said, “HSVP follows the Haryana Building Code, in which a change has been brought, allowing construction of stilt plus four floor buildings. Now, this new policy is applicable across Haryana. Constructions are happening in large numbers not only in Panchkula, but in Gurgaon, Ambala and across the state.”
He said if 100 new buildings were coming up, complaints were being received only from 10 neighbourhoods: “Cracks appear when the construction company does the job negligently, uses JCBs and shifts the load on the adjoining houses leading to cracks.”
The officer added, “We appoint an engineer, who assesses the damages. Then it is sent to the four-member committee, headed by an estate officer, which passes a speaking order.”
Meanwhile, a meeting of Citizens’ Welfare Association,in collaboration with the Haryana State HUDA Sectors’ Confederation ( HSHSC), will be held at Jat Bhawan, Sector 9, on Saturday to discuss the impact of the high-rise buildings, particularly in Panchkula.
