The ninth and final tower of Chintail Paradiso in Gurgaon has been declared unsafe for habitation, following which the builder has written to the Deputy Commissioner to vacate the entire society to demolish the housing project in Sector 109.
A report from the CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, from late November states that “Due to the high chloride content of the structure and multiple failures of structural elements considering corrosion, safe demolition of Tower B is advised keeping human safety in mind. Feasibility / Retrofitting / Durability of Repairs, Uneconomic Retrofitting, and Recurring Maintenance Costs”.
Since February 2022, after the sixth floor of the society’s tower D fell on the first floor, killing two women, several towers have been declared unsafe one after the other.
In an email to Deputy Commissioner Chintail India Private Limited has already declared eight towers namely D, E, F, G, H, J, A and C as unsafe.
“… the last remaining tower i.e. Tower B is still declared unsafe by CSIR-CBRI. The administration had earlier invoked the National Disaster Act on six towers – D, E, F, G, H and J – and ordered their demolition. The DC also directed to determine the current market value of all the flats, along with the cost of interiors, and the appropriate compensation amount for each flat. We hereby request that a similar order be passed in the case of towers A, B and C so that we can demolish them at the earliest and compensate the flat owners accordingly. We assure you of our full cooperation in vacating the towers and hereby agree to pay a one-time shifting fee of Rs 40,000 to all flat owners residing in A, B and C,” the email said.
There are a total of 192 flats in these three towers and 160 families are yet to be vacated.
The builder has so far offered two options to flat owners: The first is reconstruction, in which residents pay Rs 1,000 per square foot to rebuild their flats after demolition, which is yet to begin. The second option is the contract, as part of which the builder will pay the buyers Rs 6,500 per sqft, refund the actual stamp duty paid by the flat owners, and reimburse the renovation cost as assessed by government-appointed independent valuers.
Gurgaon Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Chandra had earlier written to the District Town Planner (DTP) to fix the interim rent amount based on the recommendations of a committee which was Rs 15 per sqft. Residents who opt for the offer can take advantage of it once reconstruction begins, but not sooner.
Construction began in phases in 2011. Construction began early on Phase 1, which includes Towers D, E, F, G, and H, followed by Phase 2, which includes Towers A, B, C, and J.
What does the CRRI report say?
-Chloride in concrete was more than the permissible limit of acid soluble chloride content. “Its range is 0.225 to 3.6 kg/m3 of concrete, therefore, the highest value of chloride content is almost six times the permissible limit,” the report said. The acceptable chloride limit is 0.6kg/m3.
– The report cites visual inspection, rebound hammer testing (RHT), ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), and half-cell potential test reports. “In light of the high deterioration of reinforcement due to the presence of chlorides, most of the structural elements are failing to pass the structural stability test (carried out taking into account the current strength and reinforcement area), as per Indian standards considering seismic zone IV.” States.