Hundreds of residents in the Jains Westminster apartments in Chennai’s Saligramam have been living in fear after the ceilings of the building started to collapse. On Monday, July 31, the false ceiling of a corridor on the ground floor collapsed within seconds along with concrete chunks and iron rods that were installed in the ceiling. The residents filed a complaint with the police against the builders – Jain Housing and Constructions for structural defects. Since July 31, residents claim that ceilings collapsing have become everyday occurrences but the builder allegedly has not responded to these concerns. The complex that was completed in 2015 houses three blocks with a total of 640 units. Out of this, 130 units are vacant and unsold.
When TNM visited the 17-floored apartment complex on Thursday, August 3, the floor tiles and walls were cracked and elongated with gaps, the concrete plasters on the roofs were peeling off and the staircases were severely damaged. The hand railings on the balcony and the grills on the corridors were completely rusted. The grills were also unattached to the supporting beams. When in use, the elevators were shaking making the entire building completely unsafe to use.
Concrete plasters peeling off along the cracks on the ceiling of the basement on Block A.
TNM visited three blocks of the Jains Westminister’s apartments to understand the occurrences and realised that the residents were literally walking on eggshells since June 2021, when the first such incident was reported.
“Cracks began to appear in June 2021 and I was very wary. I had warned my wife from sitting in the living room and as a measure of caution, I had not even removed the packaging of a new TV that I had purchased then. On June 18, 2021, the concrete along with iron rods from the ceiling collapsed onto my living room,” Dr Vembar, a resident of Block-A told TNM. He further said that since it was the first such occurrence, Jain Housing and Constructions repaired the ceiling at their cost over many months. Within days after the first occurrence, another ceiling collapsed in an adjacent block but the builder has not completed repairs to date, Dr Vembar added.
When TNM spoke with Kumar, secretary of the Jains Westminster Owners Association, he said the builder had not responded to subsequent reports of such events and had not extended any support to initiate repair. The apartment’s association members in 2022 collected funds close to Rs 5 crore to restore the building which houses nearly 500 families.
Repair works being carried out by workers who were hired by the Association.
With the funds collected so far, repair works were initiated in Block A and B. More than 30 scaffolds have been supporting the repair works that have begun in the basement since the pillars and beams that support the 17 floors have huge cracks. Scaffolds were also spotted inside the apartment. Since July, the corridor on the fourth floor has been supported by scaffolds fixed on the third floor in Block A. When TNM asked about the delay in repairing this corridor, AR Sridhar, a resident, said that the apartment’s association is running out of funds. “Initially we had collected Rs 5 crore from the residents. We strengthened the beams and pillars on the ground floors. But, now we don’t have enough money to repair some corridors nor the individual flat in the tenement,” Kumar corroborated.
A Block’s third floor’s ceiling supported by scaffolds due to lack of funds to undertake repair works
The Madras High Court in September 2022 restricted the builders from allowing the sale of unsold apartments due to poor quality of construction. At present, there are more than 100 flats unsold and ill-maintained by the builder. When TNM visited, several of these unused flats were unlocked. Residents allege that the windows and the doors to balconies remain open, inundating the flats with water during monsoons causing water seepages in the houses on the floor below them and weakening the structure.
Several residents said that they are constantly expecting the worst. Senior citizen and resident Vishalakshi revealed that she has a suitcase in her house, packed and ready. “It has five dresses for me and my husband, some jewels and cash. If an untoward event is to happen, we are prepared to just pick it up and run away,” she remarked.
Virugambakkam Assembly constituency DMK MLA Prabhakara Raja and Ravi Shankar, DMK Councillor of ward number 129 - where the apartment is located - met the residents on August 3. They inspected the damages caused by the structural design failure. Prabhakara Raja told TNM that the government would take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the residents. "We will discuss with Sandeep Mehta, who is the Managing Director (MD) of the Jain Housing and Constructions, to address the matter and arrest the issue," he said, adding that he further informed Natarajan, Chief Engineer, Commissionerate of Municipal Administration, who has visited the apartments for an assessment. The report will be submitted to Radhakrishnan, Commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
MLA Prahakara Raja and Councillor Ravi Shankar addressing the concerns of the owners on Thursday, August 3.
Meanwhile, Mehta told the Times of India that restoration works are being carried out in buildings regularly. Disheartened by his response, Visalakshi exclaimed, “Of course, the rectification work is going on, but who is doing that work? It is not Sandeep Mehta. It is us, the residents of the apartment!”
As the residents deal with havoc around them, a spokesperson for Jain Housing and Construction told TNM that the apartment association was responsible for them stopping the repairs. "After receiving complaints of cracks in 2019, we had started rectification work. But the Association stopped us saying that they were not satisfied with our repairs. Now they are carrying out repairs at their cost. We are ready even now to step in and carry out repairs,” he said. On the shoddy quality of work, he blamed the excess chloride content in the water in that area.
No way ahead
Financial hardships have stopped many of the residents from moving away. Sangeetha, a resident since 2016, said, “We purchased this flat by taking a loan. Every month, we are paying Rs 30,000 as an instalment which will continue for another 15 years. How can we pay rent to live elsewhere while the repair works continue and shell out money for repairs as well?” Every year, each owner shells out at least Rs 1 lakh just for repairing ceilings, bathroom tiles, and balcony grills among others, she added.
One of the cars was damaged due to concrete and iron rods that dropped from the building’s exterior- an added expenditure for residents.
The spending does not end there. Families who lived in houses that now need repair have shifted to other flats in the same building. Speaking to TNM, one resident said, “No one will rent us a house for a few months till the restoration is over. The owners here understand our plight and are allowing us to rent their flats. The rent goes up to Rs 22,000 for two-bedroom apartments and up to Rs 32,000 for a 3-bedroom. Think about the senior citizens who get only Rs 40,000 as a monthly pension,” he pleaded.
Residents also alleged that the builder is yet to return the corpus fund. According to a resident, when the owners asked the builder to return the corpus fund in 2016, the builder said it would be used to repair the damages caused by the Vardah cyclone.
Missing amenities
In 2011, Jain Housing and Constructions Ltd advertised their project Jains Westminster and promised nothing but a royal experience for their buyers. The flats were gradually handed over to the owners starting from 2015. “Before handing over the keys, the builder asked us to sign a declaration saying there were no problems or concerns with our houses and the buildings. I had highlighted some problems, but they said the keys won’t be handed over to me. So I signed it after they verbally promised to rectify the problems within two months,” Kumar said.
The residents also alleged that the builder once promised them that the entire D block would function as a clubhouse but instead turned it into a commercial area. The clubhouse was supposed to have amenities like billiards tables, a sauna, and a spa.
Previously, in 2020, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) sealed the swimming pool as the pool was not included in the project when CMDA approved the plan. Ravichandran, one of the residents, alleged that the builders extorted money from the buyers for owning an apartment which faces this illegal pool. "The flats facing the pool are called premium flats. The buyers paid Rs 200 extra per square foot. I paid Rs 5 lakh extra just to watch the pool be sealed," he added.