Chintels residents demand full settlement before demolition

After the developer of Chintels Paradiso condominium initiated steps to demolish the five unsafe towers, the inhabitants and Residents Welfare Association (RWA) held a meeting on Saturday and decided that they will submit a set of demands to the district administration and department of town and country planning (DTCP) in the coming days pertaining to financial settlement, payment of rent, safety measures to be taken and submission of audit reports that are pending.

On Friday, a team of demolition experts visited Chintels Paradiso condominium and asked the developer to take a few measures in the run-up to the demolition, which will take around six to seven months.

A representative of Chintels Paradiso RWA requesting anonymity said that the residents will ask the district administration to ensure that all flat owners be given compensation first and settlement is completed before any demolition is allowed. “Those owners who don’t want compensation but flats to be reconstructed should be given this option. The owners must also be paid rent during the construction period,” said Shobha Yadav, and flat owner and RWA member.

RWA also said that apart from paying compensation, the administration should also ensure that safety of Towers A, B, C and J, which are occupied. “The audit report of Tower J should be submitted and audit reports carried out by IIT experts should be shared with CBRI. The structural audit report of Towers A, B, C and J should be studied by CBRI to assess and suggest measures for strengthening of structures, “ said the RWA in a statement on Saturday.

Rakesh Hooda, president, Chintels Paradiso RWA, said that the authorities should guarantee the safety of flats and residents and share the demolition plan with RWA. “During the demolition process, all safety measures should be spelt out through written affidavit by the agency carrying out the demolition and by Chintels India Limited. These safety measures should be endorsed by the Gurugram administration,” he said.

The RWA further said that any step forward like barricading, demolition relocating the utilities in the common areas has to be done in consultation with residents and RWA and taking the consent of every owner, including those who are not affected by demolition, as the common areas are shared by all owners and no alterations can be done without the consent of the owners.

“We will submit these demands in the next few days and want the authorities to take suitable action,” said the RWA members.

When asked about the issues raised by the flat owners, an official of DTCP said that the interests of the owners will be safeguarded. “We will consider all the issues. We are trying to complete the settlement process at the earliest,’ he said.