Life Savings Gone, Dreams Shattered: Residents of NBCC Green View Told to Vacate Building in 15 Days

RP Mehrotra, former executive director at Engineers India Limited, spent Rs 1.38 crore in 2018 to move into his four-bedroom flat at the NBCC Green View group housing project in Gurugram’s Sector 37D after his retirement. But his dream to spend his retired life in his cherished home with his family turned into a nightmare soon.

The Gurugram administration this week directed the residents of NBCC Green View to vacate the building by March 1 as it is unsafe to live in. A helpless Mehrotra said, “I have invested all my savings in that house to stay after retirement. But I don’t have the courage to stay there and risk my life.” There are hundreds like Mehrotra, especially retired officials, who spent crores to buy a flat in NBCC Green View in Gurugram but now have virtually nowhere to go.

The sprawling 18-acre housing project of National Buildings Construction Corporation (India) Limited, a blue-chip Government of India Navratna enterprise, was completed in 2017. The society has over 900 flats, including 139 reserved for the economically weaker sections. So far, around 260 flats have been sold. More than 100 families are residing in the society now.

Within a few months of moving in, residents said they started noticing large cracks appearing on the walls and floors. The moulding tiles in the living rooms had come off for many. The walls of the flats have started exposing the iron rod beneath them and the plasters peeled off.

Anup Bhatnagar, who started living in NBCC Green View in 2018, said, “I noticed a serious deflection on the floor in my bedroom within the first few months. It was like a slope on the floor.” And this kept on increasing each day, he added. “I have contacted NBCC several times to fix this but they have not replied to any of the mails.”

The three-bedroom flat cost Bhatnagar around Rs 70 lakh. To buy this property, he took a loan and has to pay a monthly instalment of Rs 50,000. With an eviction notice to vacate the flat in two weeks, the private sector employee has been having “sleepless nights” thinking about the future.

‘We Feel Cheated’

The residents said they trusted NBCC with their hard-earned money and now feel cheated. “I paid around Rs 70 lakh to get a flat in NBCC Green View eight years ago. In Gurugram, there were many options that were far cheaper. We chose NBCC because it was a Government of India PSU, with a tagline of Navratna. We did not mind paying that extra bit at that time. We often hear stories about private builders cheating or developing poor quality houses and this was the reason we trusted NBCC,” said Basab Dasgupta, another resident. “Now look at us, we feel cheated.”

The “unsafe” condition of Green View came into focus after multiple ceilings collapsed in another society in Gurugram — Chintels Paradiso in Sector 109 — killing two people this month. According to the recommendations of IIT Delhi, the developer had sent the first eviction notice in October last year to vacate the flats by November 10. The residents said that NBCC officials have adopted an “inhumane and inconsiderate” attitude. They have threatened to cut off essential services like electricity and water for months. they added. “We have been living in shoddily constructed flats for years now. These constructions are beyond repair now. NBCC did not pay heed to any of our complaints earlier. Now they are afraid after the Chintels Paradiso incident that they might have to take responsibility if anything happens to us. But they are completely inhumane people. They don’t care about our lives. Instead of our demand for a refund, they are serving us notices to vacate our houses,” said a G Mohanty, president, association of apartment owners and former CBI spokesperson.

‘NBCC does not Care About our Safety’

When residents started witnessing large cracks and deflections in the buildings, they approached the developers. With no immediate action plan or guidance from them, the buyers knocked on the doors of the union ministry of housing and urban affairs. They also filed a complaint with the central vigilance commission for a probe. The two-year-old report by the commission pointed out poor planning and quality of concrete used during construction, the residents said. The firefighting system in the society is not functional. The electric substation has been constructed in the basement, below 1.6 metres of the groundwater table, resulting in perpetual flooding, which is dangerous for the life and property of a resident. “Had safety been the concern of the company, they would have acted promptly on the numerous complaints,” Mohanty added.

“Expert committee is examining the reasons for such premature deterioration of structures, and it will be known only on receipt of expert committee report. The issues with regard to contractors and employees involved in the construction is under investigation and it will be brought to its logical conclusion. NBCC is fully committed to the well-being of its customers and standing firmly with them in this hour of crisis,” NBCC told News18.com.

Residents Seek Full Refund

Gurugram deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav, who is also the chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority, had earlier said that all families residing in the society had been asked to vacate by March 1, considering the safety concerns. He directed NBCC to provide alternative accommodation to the residents until they carry out the repairs. The developers will also bear the cost of transportation, shifting, and rentals. He also directed that the families living in the society will get a refund from NBCC. “There is no clarity or a proper action plan from NBCC. We don’t know what will happen after six months. What if the builder does not give us a refund after six months?” Bhatnagar asked.

Residents want a full refund with 15 per cent interest and cost incurred by them on interior work, registration charges, stamp duty, and token compensation for the agony and pain they had undergone in the past four years. “Due to inhabitable apartments, our demand for a refund of money with interest is pending for more than a year now. It is disappointing to note that DC Gurugram has directed NBCC to refund money to 25 odd residents only, and not the over 160 owners of NBCC Green View, 37D complex. We demand immediate justice,” said Dasgupta.

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