: Old group housing buildings, including three-storey ones, will now be able to install lifts in Noida now. The Noida authority, in its 190th board meeting on Friday, approved a proposal allowing old buildings that are less than 15 metres tall to install lifts. The complexes that will be benefitted by the move were constructed in the 1980s and 1990s.
“The authority has allowed an old building to install a lift if over 50 per cent of the residents give their consent. We approved this proposal on the demands of residents who were facing problems,” said SC Gaur, chief architect and town planner of the Noida authority.
The move will benefit around 40,000 residents of 35 old housing societies, including co-operative ones.
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Building owners will have to fulfill three conditions — no objection certificate from fire department, building structural safety certificate and space for lift in a block, said officials.
“We have eased conditions to install lifts in old buildings as thousands of residents are suffering. The Noida authority had earlier approved a proposal on lift installations in old buildings. But that proposal needed a consent of all residents. This time, the consent of over 50 per cent is enough,” said Gaur. Four residents’ welfare associations have already applied for permission to install lifts.
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Residents have welcomed the move. “Many people, who had bought flats in these buildings as youngsters, are now senior citizens. They cannot climb stairs comfortably,” said Udaiveer Singh, a resident of Noida. The authority said fee for permission will be nominal and the residents will have to bear the cost of the liftinstallation.
(The writer is a freelance journalist)