Noida: Recurring plaster, seepage and structural defects at Great Value Sharnam in Sector 107 have prompted Noida Authority to order a structural audit. An inspection found peeling plaster and exposed reinforcement bars in towers and the basement.“Ever since residents shifted here, there has not been a single year when we have not seen patchwork being carried out,” Kaladhar Narayan, a resident, told TOI.Narayan, a senior official with GAIL, purchased a 4BHK apartment here in 2018. He said that peeling plaster, in particular, has been a persistent problem in the society for years.The society, home to around 1,300 families living across 17 towers, has seen repair work several times over the years, but there’s been no permanent fix for the underlying issue of poor construction quality, residents said.“We have been complaining to the Noida Authority and requesting that they look into the matter. It appears that the quality of the raw material is poor, and that is why we requested a structural audit,” Narayan added.According to officials, the Authority has now issued a notice to M/s Great Value Projects India in response to a complaint by the society’s AOA and directions from the Resettlement and Industrial Development Commissioner.A recent inspection by Noida officials found plaster peeling off at several locations, exposing reinforcement steel in beams beneath balcony slabs and in walls. Exposed reinforcement bars were also found in beams and ceilings at multiple points in the basement. At some spots, the inspection team found that the exposed steel appeared to have been temporarily covered.Water leakage was also found in the basement, with some columns and beams showing signs of seepage. The findings indicated a strong possibility of structural weakening, and the developer was directed to get the structural integrity of the project assessed, officials said.The structural audit has to be conducted by one of eight institutions empanelled by the Authority — IIT Delhi, Delhi Technological University, IIT Kanpur, MNIT Allahabad, BITS Pilani, Aligarh Muslim University, MNIT Jaipur or CSIR-CBRI Roorkee.The developer has also been directed to carry out regular repair work. If repairs are not completed within the stipulated period and any untoward incident occurs as a result, the developer will bear full responsibility and legal action will be initiated, officials said.The letter issued by Noida, however, does not mention the time period in which the inspection has to be carried out and reported to the Authority.AOA vice president Anoop Pokhriyal said the project was launched in 2010 and that seven of the 17 towers had been completed by 2014. “Possession began in 2016 and, since then, the condition of the buildings has continued to deteriorate,” Pokhriyal said.After the AOA was formed in 2021, residents repeatedly wrote to the builder and the Authority seeking a structural audit of the residential towers, but the directive has only just been issued. The lack of a time frame to conduct the audit is also a concern, residents said.“In the last two years, we have had several instances of plaster falling off and towers developing cracks. We have even staged demonstrations in the past,” Pokhriyal added.The builder, meanwhile, did not respond to TOI’s calls seeking a comment.
