Chintels towers to be razed soon in Gurugram

Officials with the developer said they have already got permission to demolish five towers, and are awaiting the permission for the sixth

Chintels India Ltd, the developer of the Chintels Paradiso condominium at Gurugram Sector 109, on Friday announced that the demolition of six residential towers in the complex that were declared unsafe by the district administration will commence from next month.

Chintels Paradiso apartments in Gurugram. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

“We will start the demolition in November and complete it in six months,” Chintels India Ltd vice president JN Yadav said.

Officials with the developer said they have already got permission to demolish five towers, and are awaiting the permission for the sixth.

On February 10, 2022, renovations at a sixth-floor flat of Tower D in the society 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. Following the incident, in which two residents were killed, the Haryana department of town and country planning (DTCP) ordered a structural audit of the entire complex.

Based on a report prepared by IIT-Delhi, the administration deemed five of the nine towers in the complex — D, E, F, G, and H — unsafe, and in need of demolition. Later, on January 5 this year, Tower J was also declared unsafe.

“All safety precautions all be taken during the demolition and we have hired an expert agency to perform this task,” Yadav said.

Manish Yadav, district town planner (enforcement), who is a member of the district probe committee, said that audit reports of Towers C and A will be discussed in detail soon. “As far as the demolition of the other six towers is concerned, all norms pertaining to safety and security will have to be followed. All the concerned departments have also given their recommendations regarding the procedures to be followed during demolition,” he said.

According to a proposal submitted by the developer on March 7, the demolition contractor will deploy a high-reach machine for the task.

“Water tanks and a few floors will be demolished manually, depending upon the height of the machine with the help of electric breaker,” the proposal stated, adding that the debris will be sent to a construction and demolition plant for disposal, while surrounding properties will be covered to prevent the ingress of dust.

Yadav from Chintels said they have shifted utilities from these buildings, with only connections to the main supply network still to be removed — a task that they said will be completed by the end of October.

“We have completed the shifting of infrastructure related to water supply, power and fire management. By the end of this month the new infrastructure will be constructed with the master network,” he said.