Gurugram admin sets compensation for Chintels flat owners

The compensation rates were determined based on assessments by structural consultants and valuators, considering prevailing market rates, DTCP said

The Gurugram district administration has fixed compensation rates for flat owners of Towers A, B, and C in Chintels Paradiso, setting it at ₹7,900 per square foot (psf) for Towers A and B and ₹7,500 psf for Tower C, officials said on Monday. The administration has also directed that residents opting for reconstruction will receive rent from the date of vacating their flats. 

The statement clarified that rent for residents opting for reconstruction will be paid from the date of vacating their flats as per Supreme Court directions. (HT Archive)

A senior official from the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) said that the decision was taken in a district committee meeting investigating the Chintels Paradiso incident. The move follows the committee’s approval last week of the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) reports, which declared Towers A, B, and C unfit for habitation. 

According to a statement from the DTCP, the compensation rates were determined based on assessments by structural consultants and valuators, considering prevailing market rates. The statement read, As per the report submitted by the structural consultant/valuator at par with the prevailing market rates, the assessment of Tower A and B is ₹7,900 per sqft, and the assessment of Tower C is ₹7,500 per sqft.” 

Additionally, the statement clarified that rent for residents opting for reconstruction will be paid from the date of vacating their flats as per Supreme Court directions.

The committee also mentioned that compensation and rent payments for residents of Towers D, E, F, G, H, and J has been decided based on directions from the Gurugram divisional commissioner. These six towers were deemed unsafe by IIT Delhi’s structural audit in 2023 and 2024, and demolition of these towers has already begun. 

When asked about the district administration’s decision, JN Yadav, vice president of Chintels India Ltd, stated that the developer would comply with the compensation and rent directives. 

”Compensation will be paid to the buyers as decided by the district committee, and those opting for reconstruction will be paid rent. We will make an offer once the directions are received from the authorities. We have already started demolition of six towers,” he said. 

However, residents believe the compensation rates are too low. Rakesh Hooda, president of Chintels Paradiso RWA, argued that the valuation should be reconsidered, as he believes flats should be valued at a minimum of ₹14,000 psf.

”The rate of flats should have been assessed at a minimum of ₹14,000 psf. We will ask for reconsideration of the valuation, but we welcome the decision to give rent to owners from the date of vacation of flats,” he said. 

The structural safety concerns at Chintels Paradiso date back to February 10, 2022, when renovation work in a sixth-floor flat of Tower D led to a bedroom ceiling collapse. The structural failure triggered a cascade effect, causing portions of flats from the sixth floor down to the first floor to cave in. Two residents were killed in the incident, prompting the Haryana DTCP to order a structural audit of the entire complex.