Builders not paying for audit, DTCP seeks auction of assets

Sumedha Sharma

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Gurugram, March 9

As developers of 22 “unsafe” residential societies have failed to pay for structural audits, the Department of District Town and Country Planning (DTCP) has recommended the recovery of audit amount through an auction of their land or constructed units.

Almost a month after Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Yadav had warned the builders of the suspension of units’ sale, a majority of them have failed to comply with the instructions. According to District Town Planner (Enforcement) Manish Yadav, the action has initially been recommended against 10 builders, whose societies are in the worst condition.

Demolition of chintels’ towers begins

• Builders have started the demolition of the unsafe towers in Chintels Paradiso in Sector 109, with Tower D being pulled down first that had partially collapsed in 2022
• The towers will be demolished within six months
• Six of nine towers were declared unsafe in society

“It’s been over six months after the visual audit, which confirms the remarkable deterioration. The next step is a structural audit and the builders have to pay for it. We have identified the agencies and the amount is not much. However, they are not ready to pay and that is delaying the entire process,” Yadav said while speaking to The Tribune.

According to the letter, in the first phase, builders of Central Park 2 and Bellevue in Sector 48, Signature Solera in Sector 107, Raheja Vedaanta in Sector 108, Raheja Atharva in Sector 109, DLF park Place in Sector 54, Paras Irene in Sector 70, Spaze Privy in Sector 72, Tulip Ivory in Sector 70 A and Mahindra Aura in Sector 110 have been identified.

Twenty-three high-rise residential societies were selected for the second phase of the structural audit, but the builder of only one of these has paid the fee so far. Of the remaining 22 societies, the developers of six have not even shared the project drawings, without which the audit is not possible.

“We have already given enough time to the builders and now we won’t be lenient as it is a matter of residents’ safety. We will soon proceed with the penalisation of builders and suspension of registries. If builders don’t pay upfront money, we would ask the Revenue Department to recover the audit charges from the sale of their properties. There is no escape as they are accountable,” added DC Yadav.

It may be noted that structural audits were ordered in 2022 after a vertical collapse of five floors at the Chintels Paradiso residential society in Sector 109 killed two residents. The resident welfare associations of around 55 societies had raised their concerns, following which the district administration zeroed in on some of the apartment complexes that might need audits to be carried out.