To expedite structural audit of Chintels Paradiso DTCP to seek fixed timeline

To expedite the structural audit at Chintels Paradiso, the department of town and country planning (DTCP) will hold a meeting with the experts from IIT Delhi and the representatives of the private testing agency, who have been hired for the purpose so that the exact timeline of the entire exercise can be finalised, said district town planner Amit Madholia, who inspected the residential complex on Saturday and interacted with residents.

“There is a need to expedite the structural audit as it will reveal the condition of four other towers apart from Tower D. We are going to hold a meeting with the structural audit team and the testing agency next week and seek clear timeline for completing the process. We also are looking to hire two evaluators to assess Tower D. The evaluation of the remaining four towers will be carried out once the structural audit report is finalised,” said Madholia.

The DTCP officials also met residents and home owners and assured them that the structural audit process will be expedited and timelines for the same will be fixed. There is strong resentment among the residents of Chintels Paradiso due to delay in the completion of the structural audit.

On February 10, six floors of Tower D in Chintels Paradiso in Sector 104 collapsed, killing two people. The city police had registered cases against the developer of the housing complex and a structural audit, which was announced by the state government to find out the reasons of collapse, is being conducted by a team of experts from IIT Delhi and private agencies. The state government also formed a committee at the district -level to probe the incident and also announced a CBI enquiry into the matter.

Notably, the three experts from IIT Delhi in its preliminary report submitted on March 12 observed that given the age of the condominium, there has been faster than expected deterioration in the structure.

It also found significant corrosion of steel reinforcement in collapsed debris in the building and observed rust marks during visual inspection of debris in tower D. The three members–Prof. Shashank Bishnoi, Prof. Vasant Matsagar, and Prof D R Sahoo- -are all from the department of civil engineering, IIT Delhi.