Plaster peeling off for years? Greater Noida orders structural audit of condo after biker’s death

Noida: Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) decided to conduct a structural audit of Arihant Amber in Noida Extension, a day after a 46-year-old resident died when a chunk of concrete fell from an overhead beam, struck him, and sent his bike crashing into a tower wall.“The Authority will initiate a structural audit of the building and its construction and take suitable action based on the report,” said Saumya Srivastava, additional CEO at GNIDA.The victim, Vikas Chawla, lived in Tower D (flat 1507) with his wife, two children and parents. The incident took place around 4pm on Saturday as he rode out from Tower D’s parking area. AOA president Tushar Panda said Chawla had reached an open space when “a portion of the roof beam fell on him”.

“He lost balance on the two-wheeler and hit the tower wall. His head struck the corner,” Panda said.Residents rushed him to Yatharth Hospital, about five minutes away, but he was declared dead on arrival. Chawla’s younger brother Deepak, who filed the complaint, said, “As soon as he took the turn, a large piece of plaster fell from above and hit him. He was seriously injured,” he alleged, seeking strict action against the builder and AOA.

An FIR was registered at Bisrakh police station against the builder and the AOA under BNS Section 106 (causing death by negligence). The maintenance in-charge of the society was arrested.Residents said the tragedy followed repeated warnings. According to them, plaster has been peeling off “after every spell of strong wind and rain”, and complaints to authorities and UP-Rera brought no lasting fix.“In the last three years, 20-25 such incidents took place….

This is the first time a resident suffered fatal injuries,” Panda said. He said the AOA moved Rera in 2024, and while the developer placed a cradle for maintenance last year, “no repair works” were carried out.In a May 29 letter to the district administration, the AOA said external plaster and structural components were “highly dilapidated”. “Cement and concrete chunks are falling daily from balconies and beams… Despite a pending RERA case… no repair has been carried out,” it wrote.The developer rejected the allegations and said maintenance is no longer its responsibility. Kaushal Jain, managing director at Arihant Group, said the project got its completion certificate in 2018 and an occupancy certificate on Dec 14, 2018.The society’s AOA was formed in 2022 and facilities were handed over on April 1, 2023. “According to rules, once the project is handed over to AOA, they are responsible for its maintenance,” Jain said.The AOA, however, alleged in its Rera complaint that despite obtaining an OC, the developer did not complete several amenities in the project, including a swimming pool.Arihant Amber has four towers (A-D) and 628 flats, of which 625 are occupied. It was developed by Citycon Buildwell Ltd.