NBCC Green view declared unsafe, residents asked to vacate by March 1

NBCC Green View Apartments in sector 37-D, Gurugram has been deemed unsafe to live in according to reports of district town planner and other experts. The residents of the society have been asked to vacate the society by March 1, 20022 by Nishant Kumar Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Gurugram on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, following the meeting with 140 residents and the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC), India Ltd officials, a construction company owned by the government of India.

The fate of the building and the 140 families living here is still not clear. The decision whether to demolish or repair the building is yet to be taken. It will depend on the reports of a committee of experts which includes IIT Roorkee and CBRI.

Yadav also directed NBCC the developer of Green View Apartments, to provide alternative accommodation to the residents till they carry out the repairs and bear the cost of transportation, shifting and rentals.

The decision to get the society evacuated comes days after a recently reported incident where a portion of a housing society Chintels Paradiso in Gurugram sector 109 collapsed leaving two women dead.

The debate over the safety of Green View apartment buildings has been going on since 2018. A structural audit by IIT-Delhi had declared the building unsafe last year. High chloride levels of water were cited as the reason for erosion in the building.

Although the developer of NBCC Green View Apartments had handed over a notice for evacuation to residents of Green View in November last year, as per Yadav, NBCC could not then decide whether the building should be repaired or dismantled. Thereafter, many tests were done again in the society whose reports are awaited.

Residents feel discontent. Uncertainty looms large as they think about future propositions.

“Irony is that for the fault of NBCC and the contractor, we are being victimized. Gurugram district administration should immediately file an FIR against NBCC and the contractor for endangering the lives of people like they have done in the Chintels Paradiso case,” said G. Mohanty, President of the Apartment Owners Association.

Yadav said he has directed NBCC --National Building Construction Corporation, a Government of India enterprise to refund the money to all the homebuyers, who do not wish to live in the society, with interest, so that they can buy new properties. The NBCC offered to provide apartments in other projects and agreed to pay rent till the society is made ready to move in again.

In a statement to PTI, Managing Director of NBCC India PK Gupta said, "The decision has been taken in the interest of the flat owners and consensus between them and the building authority NBCC. We will oversee the compensation and rehabilitation of the residents."

However, despite promises and assurances, residents face uncertainty over whether they will be compensated in future.

According to Deepak Jain, a resident, nearly 140 families are affected. Most of the residents living in the society are retired government officials whose children live far away. In a word with CitySpidey, he explains that this is the examination season of children and to move amidst this in 15 days is an inconvenience. As per him, residents should at least have been given 2 months to move. He also says that the minutes of the meeting held yesterday does not clarify anything on when and how will the residents be compensated.

"We have been given very little to move. Plus, we have no faith in NBCC. Once we move out, they may not refund our money and we will run from pillar to post for the same. We request the Deputy Commissioner to ask the Company to furnish a legally binding assurance for the refunds with a penalty clause for the delay.”