Gurugram admin declares another Chintels tower unsafe for habitation

Tower J is the sixth out of nine towers in the condominium that has been deemed unsafe over the past one year

A Gurugram district committee probing the collapse of six floors of a tower in the Chintels Paradiso condominium in 2022 on Friday declared that Tower J of the society is unsafe for habitation and should be vacated immediately, officials aware of the matter said.

Earlier, a structural audit by IIT-Delhi, which was ordered by the department of town and country planning (DTCP), found that five towers — D, E, F, G and H — were unsafe. (HT Archive)

Tower J is the sixth out of nine towers in the condominium that has been deemed unsafe over the past one year.

On February 10, 2022, renovations at a sixth-floor flat in Tower D led to the ceiling of a bedroom collapsing, causing a cascade effect in which portions of flats caved in all the way down to the first floor, leading to the death of two people.

Following the incident, the Haryana government filed a criminal case against the developer, and transferred the investigation from the local police to CBI in January 2023.

Subsequently, a structural audit by IIT-Delhi that was ordered by the department of town and country planning (DTCP) found that five towers — D, E, F, G and H — were unsafe.

On Friday, the report issued by the district panel said, “The committee is of the view that Tower J should be permanently closed. The residents should be asked to vacate immediately.”

The committee directed the developer to settle the claims of all the allottees of Tower J in a time-bound manner.

“Revaluation should be done again as the earlier valuation is 1.5 year old,” said Rakesh Hooda, Chintels Paradiso resident welfare association president.

A spokesperson for Chintels said, “We urge the residents to vacate the tower at the earliest. We will share a similar package as offered to other flat owners.”