RWAs in Faridabad taking up repairs of high-rises without structural audit

Tribune News Service

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, March 28

Resident welfare associations (RWAs) of some societies have allegedly taken up repair work without any formal audit of the structures of the high-rise buildings.

Only outer walls being repaired

The RWA of our society has already started the repair work of towers and each flat owner was required to pay an average amount of over Rs 40,000. But we are not confident about the overall safety of the building due to the poor condition of its internal structure as only outer walls are being repaired. — Daya Shanker, resident, SRS Royal Hills society in Sector 87

The demand for structural audit had come up after the collapse of two floors of a residential society in Gurugram about two years ago.

“The RWA of our society has already taken up the repair work of towers with the help of contributions from flat owners,” said Daya Shanker, a resident of the SRS Royal Hills society in Sector 87 here.

He said while each flat owner was required to pay an average amount of over Rs 40,000, only outer walls were being repaired. “We are not confident about the overall safety of the building due to the poor condition of its internal structure,” he added.

He said as flat buyers had already paid for all costs, it was the duty of the builder to take care of the maintenance work. He asserted that the life of a multi-storey residential structure was expected to be between 40 and 50 years.

He said he had taken up this matter at various forums, including the CM window, but residents had not received any relief. He said the society had 1,450 flats, possession of which was given about 10 years ago.

“Though the demand for structural audit has been a burning issue, nothing feasible has come so far. The authorities’ attempt to spare the builder from the responsibility has let down residents,” said Jitender Bhalla of the RPS Society in Sector 89 here.

He claimed the RWA had recently taken over the maintenance work from the builder, but it was not in a position to get the audit and repairs done on itself as the total cost could be over Rs 10 crore.

Ranmik Chahal of the RWA of the Princess Park Society in Sector 86 said a strategy would soon be chalked out regarding the outer repairs of the society buildings, even though the issue of structural audit remains pending.

Pramod Manocha of the SRS Residency said outer repairs and painting work had been underway with the help of monthly contributions from the flats owners/residents. He said the city has over 50 such societies with over 1.30 lakh residents.

District Town Planner (DTP) Amit Madholia said the department was yet to get any formal directions or instructions regarding the structural audit of high-rise residential buildings in the city.

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