Hardlook | ‘Living in a state of alarm’: Forced to vacate unsafe towers, Chintels residents recount the year since collapse

Pointing to the cracks in his ceiling, Anuj, whose flat is in Tower H, said he was scared to stay there: “We are living in a state of alarm, but we are pushed to accept the option that is convenient to the builder. We won’t opt for it, but look for a rented accommodation.”

The option is getting paid Rs 6,500 per sqft for his flat, a sum, he feels, is too little compared to the market rate. A residential society built at the same time as Chintels is selling their property at Rs 12,500 per sqft, he added. “How is it fair to give us the same price we paid when buying it five years ago,” asked Anuj.

Following the collapse, the builder had offered two options to settle with residents — buyback or get the property repaired or rebuilt by pitching in Rs 1,000 per sqft. The firm later withdrew the second option, saying it had found no takers.

For 39-year-old legal consultant Manoj Singh, who has refused to vacate his Tower G flat, the situation is grim. With an EMI of Rs 61,000 a month, for the Rs 70 lakh loan he took to purchase his current flat worth Rs 1.1 crore, it is impossible to live on rent if he leaves with the buyback option, he said.

“Either the builder or the administration needs to give us rehabilitation. At Rs 1.1 crore, we won’t be able to purchase property anywhere in the vicinity. Prices have gone through the roof. We enquired about rent rates; last year, a society was charging Rs 20,000, which has risen to Rs 30,000 this year…,” said Singh, who has a family of three.

A joint ‘Housing Price-Tracker Report Q1 2023’ report by realtors’ apex body CREDAI, real estate consultant Colliers, and data analytic firm Liases Foras shows that housing prices in Delhi-NCR rose the maximum, by 16%, in January-March among top 8 cities on better demand and higher construction cost.

Residents also pointed to Signature View Apartments in Delhi, which is set to be demolished on November 30 after it was found structurally unsafe. In that case, the HIG/MIG flats will be rebuilt and for those who opted to vacate, the Delhi Development Authority would pay them rent to cover rental costs till they get repossession. “If Delhi has such a policy after the L-G’s order, why can’t the administration order something similar,” said Vikram Gambhir, a resident.

However, ADC Hitesh Kumar Meena, who also heads the district committee probing the Chintels matter, said rent will be borne by the builder till the final settlement only after the resident agrees to the option presented by the builder. “The value (Rs 6,500 per sqft) was ascertained through careful valuation. The money the builder is willing to pay is not less than what they purchased it for,” he said.

Meena added that the structural audit report of Tower J, which was sent to IIT-Delhi, was similar to that of towers A, B, and C. “In two meetings with residents on Friday, I heard grievances of those residing in A, B, C, and J; they were apprehensive about some maintenance and electricity supply issues. We had informed residents of towers G and H that they needed to vacate… we gave them time… We issued the vacation order invoking the Disaster Management Act as some people had still not moved out,” the ADC said.

The towers, meanwhile, are emptying out. At Tower G with 56 flats, 10 are occupied.

Some like Vijay Prakash (72), however, are determined to stay put. Prakash retired from SBI as a manager with Rs 70 lakh. His family bought a flat in Tower G in May 2018. With the EMI for the loan still hanging over his head, he is awaiting a rehabilitation plan. “We purchased it at Rs 6,500 (per sqft) when this was a barren stretch. We won’t leave until we get the market value or rehabilitation,” he said.

For Gambhir (68), a resident of Tower D until the collapse, his troubles have only multiplied. He was allocated a flat in Tower C for free following an agreement by the builder with the flat owner. In June, he received a call from his landlord saying he had not got rent for two months. “I said the builder was supposed to pay… A few days later, the landlord filed a case against me. Now I have to follow up on this case and await the Supreme Court verdict,” he said.

A March 29 letter by the RWA to the Department of Town and Country Planning said when the first residents moved in 2017, they observed structural issues in their flats. A group of residents, including RWA president Rakesh Hooda, from Phase 1 Towers (D, E, F, G & H) then got an audit done. “When the report flagged issues, seven of us spoke with the builder and got upgraded flats in towers constructed in the second phase (A, B, C, and J), but by paying a little more,” said Hooda.

The letter also refers to an incident in July 2021, when a portion of the ceiling fell in front of the lift lobby of the fourth floor in Tower H. Hooda said they had filed a complaint with police and complained to the DTP(E), but no action was taken. DTP (E) officials said they could not comment on the issue and were not aware as others were in office at the time. A Gurgaon Police spokesperson said all cases related to Chintels were being handled by the CBI and did not comment on the probe.

Chintels India VP, JN Yadav, said, “We have already extended the settlement offer to all residents of Phase 1 of Chintels Paradiso. We welcome the administration’s decision to ask them to vacate… our priority has always been residents’ safety. We have already settled with 118 residents which are in various stages — 56 have received 100% monetary settlement, 43 have received 10% and 19 have signed consent forms.”