Shahberi residents live under shadow of fragile buildings

Residents are also being requested to vacate unsafe structures. The priority of the Authority is the buyer,” said a GNIDA official. Many residents said they felt betrayed by the builders as they were living in fear of a mishap. On the eve of Independence Day, almost 28 people were detained for protesting outside the GNIDA office to demand action against erring builders and a quicker assessment of building safety. A few were arrested for causing damage to property.

Sachin Raghav, one of the first residents to file an FIR against a builder, said: “We need to be compensated in the event buildings are demolished. We have paid the builders and they gave us unsafe buildings. Our building has five floors and they started constructing a sixth, after which cracks developed. Builders need to be punished and an alternative has to be given for buyers.”

Locals also alleged that fresh registry of flats had taken place in August despite the Allahabad High Court’s stay order on notification of the area.

The Gautam Budh Nagar administration is also escalating action against erring builders who made sales despite court orders. “Almost 20 FIRs have been registered against buyers not complying with the rules. Some of them have been booked under the Gangster Act. We also request buyers to not take law and order into their hands during protests,” said B N Singh, District Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar.