Chintels Paradiso: Residents told to vacate 3 towers in 15 days
Chintels Paradiso has nine towers out of which six towers have already been declared unsafe and the developer has been given permission to demolish the six towers (D, E, F, G, H and J). The remaining three towers A, B and C were also declared unsafe in February this year, and will be demolished once these are vacated
Gurugram: The Gurugram district administration on Thursday said that it has invoked the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and issued directions to flat owners to vacate three towers in the Chintels Paradiso condominium within 15 days. The administration’s move was based on the report submitted by the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), which had earlier deemed Towers A, B and C structurally unsafe.
The order issued by Gurugram deputy commissioner, Ajay Kumar, late on Wednesday evening said, “It has become essential that Towers A, B and C of Chintels Paradiso Group Housing Society, Sector 109, Gurugram need immediate evacuation in order to avoid any damage to life and property of the residents.”
He directed the residents living in Towers A, B & C of Chintels Paradiso to vacate their respective premises and hand over the vacant possession of the same to M/s Chintels India Pvt Ltd within 15 days from the order.
Chintels Paradiso has nine towers out of which six towers have already been declared unsafe and the developer has been given permission to demolish the six towers (D, E, F, G, H and J). The remaining three towers A, B and C were also declared unsafe in February this year, and will be demolished once these are vacated.
According to the order issued by the deputy commissioner, the district town planner, (enforcement), Gurugram has been appointed as the nodal officer and duty magistrate to implement the directions. The orders also mentioned that the help of the police force can be taken for compliance of the orders. “If anyone is found guilty of disobeying the orders issued, then action will be taken under Section 223 of the Indian Justice Code 2023 and Section 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and other applicable legal provisions,” the order said.
Earlier on February 10, the district administration had approved the CBRI report, which had stated that the three Towers A, B and C are unsafe for habitation and these must be demolished. The district administration has already granted permission to the developer to demolish six towers of the complex D, E, F, G, H and J as these were deemed unsafe by experts from IIT Delhi, who carried out a structural audit of all these buildings in 2023 and 2024. Later, the structural audit of Towers A, B and C was conducted by CBRI, which deemed the towers as unsafe for habitation.
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 cascading 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.
The Chintels Paradiso RWA, however, expressed their annoyance with the directions issued by the administration, and said that the owners and residents had not been taken into confidence. “The evacuation order has been issued without proper planning and 150 families living in these towers have been left in the lurch. The order directs people to vacate the premises within 15 days but there is no mention of rent and rehabilitation. We will be holding a meeting soon and discuss the next course of action. We oppose this move,” said Rakesh Hooda, president, RWA.
Towers A, B and C have 192 flats out of which 150 are occupied, they said.
A spokesperson for Chintels India Ltd, meanwhile said, “We welcome the report from the office of the district magistrate-cum-chairperson of the District Disaster Management Authority, Gurugram. We stand by our commitment to fully cooperate with the directives and immediate evacuation of the said towers. We also urge the residents to vacate the towers as soon as possible, as the safety of residents is our primary concern.”
