Construction quality must be checked by RERA authorities from the start of a real estate project: FPCE

As per the Forum For People’s Collective Efforts, the partial collapse of a tower at the Chintels Paradiso housing project in Gurugram, Haryana, has discovered serious lapses in the proper functioning of both development authorities and real estate regulators in the state under the realty law RERA (FPCE).

The FPCE, an apex body for home buyers, has demanded that development authorities and regulators under RERA monitor construction quality from the start of a project in order to fulfil their responsibilities of protecting home buyers’ interests.

On February 10, a partial building collapse occurred in Chinrels Paradiso, killing two people. In another case, a Gurugram housing society with over 700 flats built by state-owned NBCC Ltd will be demolished after being deemed unsafe for habitation.

“Home buyers spend their hard-earned savings to purchase a house for the rest of its life, but in this case, the house collapsed within four years of possession. This has confirmed serious flaws in the processes of both the development authorities and the RERA authorities “On February 22, FPCE President Abhay Upadhyay told PTI.

Real estate developers must be held accountable for poor construction quality, but local governments must also bear some of the blame, he added.

Upadhyay stated that many such cases have occurred in the last few years where chunks of roof have fallen but no quality control measures have been implemented by development authorities or RERA authorities either during the construction period or before possession is offered.

The FPCE President demanded that regulatory authorities under RERA hire an in-house technical team to inspect construction quality.

“Both the development and RERA authorities should monitor construction quality from the start of the project,” Upadhyay said.

G Mohanty, President of the NBCC Green View Apartment Owners Association in Gurugram, blamed NBCC for the poor construction.

“They have admitted to doing poor construction and have neglected our numerous requests for action to correct the defects over the last four years. At this point, they should not be allowed to exploit their own flaws by evicting us from our homes and seizing control of the project through the district administration “He mentioned.

“Our demand is that NBCC refund the entire amount homeowners have paid, and furthermore 15% interest, registration charges and court fees, cost of interior work, and Rs 25 lakh compensation for subjecting home buyers to harassment and mental agony,” Mohanty said.

Vipin Tyagi, a resident of the Jaypee Aman project in Noida, has requested that the government and all departments involved conduct a structural audit of all Jaypee Aman society’s towers.

“Residents of Jaypee Aman, Sector 151 Noida are among the worried home buyers following the recent incident of building collapse in Gurugram society. This is due to the deteriorating and neglected state of towers in society “Tyagi elaborated.

Nitin Prabhakar Shingote, Founder of startup Propcheckup, advised home buyers to conduct a soul of the home or hire a home inspection company to conduct a thorough visual inspection of the flat for all types of defects.

“We look for flaws in the windows, electricals, plumbing, walls, and ceilings, among other things. We bring in structural auditors to evaluate the structural stability of the building if we notice larger cracks and other issues. These structural auditors conduct a series of tests to ensure the quality of the concrete and steel “He continued.