Safety First: Gurugram’s Chintels Paradiso Tower C Declared Unsafe

                A structural audit of the Chintels Paradiso condominium at Gurugram Sector 109 has deemed a seventh tower in the complex — Tower C — to be unsafe, and has recommended that 
it be demolished, people aware of the development said on Tuesday.
The audit, undertaken by experts from the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), was commissioned by the developer, the people said, adding that the final report, dated August 
16, has now been sent to a district committee comprising officials from the Haryana department of town and country planning (DTCP) as well as the Gurugram administration.
The builder said that they got the report from CBRI on August 16, and sent it to the committee.
“We have got the structural audit report from CBRI which has found that Tower C is unsafe. We have submitted the audit report to the district administration for further action. We will 
offer flat owners the option of taking compensation or reconstruction as it has been offered to owners of other six towers, which are being demolished,” said JN Yadav, vice president, 
Chintels India Ltd.
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 cascade 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, DTCP ordered a structural audit of the entire complex.
Based on a report prepared by IIT-Delhi, the administration deemed five of the nine towers in the complex — D, E, F, G, and H — unsafe, and in need of demolition. Later, on January 
5 this year, Tower J was also declared unsafe.
In the fresh audit, CBRI experts observed that a visual investigation study of Tower C revealed that it is “suffering from corrosion”.
“In light of the high deterioration of reinforcements due to the presence of chlorides, most of the structural elements are failing to pass the structural stability (carried out considering 
the present strength and reinforcement area), conforming to the Indian standards considering earthquake zone IV. Therefore, it can be concluded that Tower C is not safe in its present 
condition,” the report said.
“In view of the high chloride content in the structure and owing to the large number of failures of structural elements considering corrosion, the safe demolition of Tower C is advisable. 
It is recommended to consider reconstruction for the heavily damaged buildings since the cost of retrofitting would exceed 50 percent of the original construction cost,” it added.
HT has seen a copy of the audit.
The Chintels Paradiso RWA, meanwhile, said that the developer should first share the reconstruction plan with home owners before getting the tower vacated.
“Tower C has 64 flats, and these owners must be first given a proper plan for reconstruction. Offer of rent should be made along with shifting charges. Also, we want to know why the 
report of Tower A and B has not come while the testing of these towers was carried out before Tower C,” said Chintels Paradiso RWA president Rakesh Hooda.
When asked about the matter, Gurugram district commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said, “We will get it examined.”

Source : The Hindustan Time