Days after the partial collapse of a building in Gurugrams Chintels Paradiso left two persons dead, another housing society -- NBCC Green View Society located in Sector 37-D -- has been declared unsafe for the residents.
"The residents have been directed to vacate their houses in the society by March 1," said Nishant Kumar Yadav, Deputy Commissioner, Gurugram.
The decision came after Nishant Kumar Yadav, Chairman and Deputy Commissioner, District Disaster Management Authority, Gurugram, called a joint meeting of the residents and top officials of the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) on Wednesday.
In the meeting, it was decided that the residents would vacate their houses in the society by March 1. Currently, 140 families are living in the said society.
The NBCC has given the option to shift these families to alternate residential facilities and it is ready to bear the shifting cost. In case the family does not wish to stay in the alternate accommodation suggested by it, the residents can rent a flat of the same size as before, and the rent for which will be borne by the NBCC.
Yadav said that in case the residents want to take a refund, the district administration will order the NBCC to refund with interest within one month, in which the interest as per the law and legal provisions will be given at simple rates.
Yadav explained to the residents that the ownership of their flats would remain theirs and demolition would not be done without giving proper compensation to the owners.
He said that a decision regarding refund would be taken after the report of the second expert committee is received, and if it is found in the report that the building is safe to live in or can be recovered after some repairs etc.
The residents who are not willing to stay there and want a refund will be given a refund with lawful interests.
"In view of the present circumstances, the society has to be vacated," Yadav said.
NBCC CMD P.K. Gupta said. "Initially, we were also surprised as to why this happened. We could not understand how cracks were emerging in the exterior of the building. That is why experts from IIT Delhi were engaged in the safety audit.
"The IIT Delhi team conducted a study and recommended testing, in which it was found that there is more chloride in the water, which is causing corrosion. The team concluded that the society's buildings are unsafe, and they should be vacated within two months.
"After this, the NBCC could not decide whether the building should be repaired or dismantled, hence an expert committee consisting of four members from CPRI and IIT Roorkee was formed. On its recommendation, many tests were carried in the society, the report of which is yet to come."
(With inputs from IANS)
