News: Chintels Paradiso residents move SC say government has failed to protect interests-07-04-2022
The petitioners told TOI they were exasperated by the delay in getting a structural audit of the condominium, where the hall areas of five flats in Tower D caved in on February 10, done by IIT-Delhi.
GURUGR AM: Nearly two months after the death of two residents in a vertical collapse of living rooms at a tower of Chintels Paradiso, a group of 188 residents has moved the Supreme Court to seek its intervention in protecting their rights and taking penal action against the developer.
The petitioners told TOI they were exasperated by the delay in getting a structural audit of the condominium, where the hall areas of five flats in Tower D caved in on February 10, done by IIT-Delhi. They have also sought the Supreme Court’s directions on suitable compensation for residents who no longer felt safe to continue living in flats of the condominium and those who have had to shift from their homes in the evacuated Tower D.
Manoj Singh, a resident and one of the petitioners, accused the Gurgaon administration of failing to secure the interests of homebuyers, who had invested their savings in purchasing flats at Paradiso. “It seems the administration and the government are trying to shield the builder. Even after two months of the tragic incident, the district town planner has not even provided necessary support that IITDelhi needs in order to start the comprehensive structural audit of the society,” Singh said.
In such a scenario, he added, residents were forced to approach the highest judicial forum to seek justice since they were not sure that the government would deliver it. “We want an independent audit by IIT-Delhi, immediate rehabilitation to prevent further loss of lives and adequate compensation so that we can buy equivalent flats that are safe for human habitation,” Singh said
Another Paradiso resident said the government had belatedly announced a CBI inquiry into the cave-in on March 22 in the state assembly, but since then, there has been silence. Tushar Choudhary, who lives in Paradiso too, said residents “are completely fed up with the way investigation has been going”. “It has been two months, but no justice has been given to us,” he said.
The Paradiso cave-in is being investigated by a government panel headed by the additional deputy commissioner. Deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav, under whose watch the committee was formed, told TOI on Wednesday, “The inquiry is in process. A result is expected by the end of this month. Citizens can meet me in case they have any grievances.”
