India, Sept. 11 -- The Supreme Court has directed residents who have not yet vacated the unsafe structures at Gurugram Chintels Paradiso apartments, where a roof collapsed in February 2022, to leave before January 1, 2027, paving the way for their reconstruction. Around 90 residents had refused to vacate, stalling the redevelopment of the entire project of nine residential towers and 532 flats.

Towers D, E, F, G and H in Phase I have been demolished. Some flats remained occupied in towers A, B, C and J in Phase II. The eviction of residents from them was inevitable as a Central Building Research Institute audit found all structures of the housing project in Gurugram's Sector 109 unfit for habitation.

A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and...