The Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), Haryana, has issued a show-cause notice to the structural engineers and architects of Chintels Paradiso, a housing society in Gurugram, over the collapse of a portion of tower D in the society, on February 10, 2022.
On February 10, 2022, two women were killed after the ceilings of several flats in tower D of Chintels Paradiso collapsed.
The show-cause notice, dated April 13, 2023, said that the certificates and documents filed by the architects for plan approvals and occupancy certificates seem to be “false, incorrect and misleading”.
There was no immediate response from those who were served notices or from Chintels India Private Ltd.
What does the notice say?
The DTCP has given them 15 days’ time to submit replies and warned that they will be blacklisted and their licences will be cancelled, if satisfactory responses are not submitted within the timeframe.
According to the show-cause notice, the structural engineer on behalf of BMSF Design Consultants, Ajay Sahni; supervisor-cum-architect, Goonmeet S Chauhan; Design Forum International architect Ashish Jaiswal; proof consultant Arvind Kumar Gupta; and structural designer Kunwar Khalique Ahmed had submitted applications for the approval of building plans and occupation certificates.
The notice issued by DTCP Director General, TL Satyaprakash, said that the structural engineers and architects had certified that the structure was designed and constructed in accordance with the provisions of National Building Code and Indian Standard Codes, and, hence, certified to be safe for occupation.
The notice further said that on the basis of their recommendations, the DTCP had granted Occupation Certificates (OCs) for towers 4, 5, 7,6, 8, and for the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) and a nursery school in 2016 and another OC for towers 1,2, 3, and 9 and for a community building and a convenient shopping complex in 2017, respectively.
The notice highlighted that since a portion of the towers collapsed in February 2022, “the certifications and documents filed by you, along with the application forms for approval of building plans and occupation certificates, seem to be false, incorrect and misguiding”.
“In view of above facts and in the light of the unfortunate incident resulting in loss of lives due to your sheer negligence and unprofessional work ethics, you are hereby issued a show-cause notice as to why you may not be blacklisted to work in this department and your licence issued by the statutory authorities may not be recommended for cancellation,” the DTCP said.
What did investigations say?
Following the collapse of the towers, besides the police, an investigation team from IIT-Delhi was asked to conduct a structural audit.
In November 2022, the Gurugram district administration ordered the demolition of tower D after it was found unfit for habitation. The demolition order also noted that there was sagging in one of the balconies of tower F and other signs of distress in various other flats of towers E and F.
IIT-Delhi, in its report in February this year, said there is rapid and widespread corrosion of reinforcement almost throughout the structures of towers E and F and had recommended evacuation of residents from these towers.
The report said due to the high chloride content in the concrete, repairing these structures is not technically and economically feasible. District administration officials said that a structural safety audit of other towers, including A, G and H, is also under way.