Regulatory Rot Responsible For Structural Flaws And Building Collapses
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By Our Editorial Team
First publised on 2022-02-22 15:55:32
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The India Commentary view
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The real estate market in NCR is in shambles. Shoddy construction, unsold inventory in ghost-like towers and disappearing promoters are giving the sector a bad name, especially in Gurugram, Noida and Greater Noida. Close on the heels of the problems of cracks in the NBCC Green View complex of 786 flats in 12 14-storey towers in Gurugram which led to the company asking residents to vacate the premises comes the news of a cave-in at the multi-storeyed Chintels Paradiso complex in the same city. Four more towers in the complex have been declared unfit for living by the town and country planner of the district. This proves that in addition to the problems home buyers face in getting possession of their homes despite making upfront payments and/or monthly installments (if taken on loan, which is how most homes are bought now), they have now got to be worried about how long the buildings will last.
NBCC has promised to refund the entire sum homebuyers had paid to it, with interest. But is that enough? As residents have pointed out, they have suffered immense hardships and mental stress staying in the shoddily constructed project. They also said that since 2011, when they booked their flats, prices in the locality have more than doubled. They have demanded that the NBCC should pay them an amount which will enable them to buy a similar house at current prices. In Chintels case, FIRs have been filed against the directors of the real estate company, the structural engineers and the architects and a SIT is already investigating the case. But starting criminal prosecution, although the correct legal way, brings little solace to those who have lost their homes and their life's saving. Although RERA has done away with the many discrepancies in the real estate business, it has very little to offer to people who suffer in this way.
The problem is mainly due to greed and corruption - greed on part of the builders who wish to make more out of a project than it is feasible by cutting corners, using sub-standard building materials and not adhering to the right concrete mix which makes structures weak; and corruption on part of the municipal authorities who either grant sanction to projects despite everything not being in place or turn a blind eye to deviations and structural flaws by taking their 'cut'. This has now become a pan-India problem and has to be fixed in a comprehensive manner.
