A seven-year-old boy, Nikunj Chaudhary, sustained serious head injuries after a heavy chunk of plaster fell from a second-floor balcony in the BPTP Amstoria society in Sector 102, Gurugram. The incident occurred while the child was playing near flat number A-31 on the ground floor. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where his condition is reported as stable.
Residents Allege Use of Substandard Materials
The incident has sparked outrage among residents, who claim the builder used substandard construction materials, leading to frequent similar accidents. Residents report paying over Rs 60,000 annually in maintenance charges—amounting to Rs 15,000 every three months—yet they feel their lives are constantly at risk due to poor maintenance.
According to residents, previous complaints regarding crumbling plaster on balconies and walls were ignored by both the builder and the maintenance agency. They accuse the authorities of waiting for a major disaster to occur before taking action.
Police Complaint Filed Against Builder
Following the collapse, which caused panic in the society, the victim's parents are moving to file a formal police complaint against the builder and the maintenance agency, holding them directly responsible for the incident. Residents demand accountability and immediate safety measures.
Structural Audits Abandoned Despite Mandate
This recurring crisis highlights a broader failure in administrative oversight of residential infrastructure. Former Deputy Commissioner Nishant Yadav had previously mandated structural audits for housing societies in the region to prevent such collapses. However, these safety audits appear to have been shelved or abandoned, leaving residents in complexes like BPTP Amstoria vulnerable to the same construction defects that the audits were intended to identify and remediate.
Residents call for renewed enforcement of structural audits and stricter penalties for builders who use substandard materials, emphasizing that negligence endangers lives.
