Concerns over lift maintenance in Noida’s apartments have escalated as a series of recent high-profile lift accidents have resulted in fatalities and injuries. Even though authorities have taken action each time complaints were received or after some deadly incident, the safety of residents remains a pressing issue. Locals now believe that notices won’t do any good, and will only work as a band-aid.
Back in 2018, the Noida administration issued notices to builders, acknowledging residents’ complaints about lift faults and poor maintenance in high-rise apartments. The administration issued comprehensive guidelines, aligned with the UP Apartment Act, 2010, governing lift maintenance by builders and Apartment Owners Associations (AOAs) where applicable. The act mandates the maintenance, repair, and replacement of common areas, facilities, utilities, equipment, and machinery, including lifts.
Builders were given a seven-day window to submit their Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMCs) for lift maintenance. Notably, the Noida administration sent notices to 29 builders, including well-known names such as Jaypee, Mahagun, Supertech, IITL Nimbus, and others, in an effort to address residents’ demands for concrete action on lift maintenance.
Despite these efforts, reports of faulty lifts have continued to emerge, exacerbating safety concerns. The residents believe that the absence of a dedicated Lift Act, coupled with the lack of clear guidelines and accountability measures, has led to this situation.
Recent incidents have underscored the urgency of the situation. Just a few days ago a harrowing accident occurred at the construction site of Amrapali Dream Valley Society (Phase-2) in Techzone-4. Eight workers and one operator were on a lift from the ground floor to the 20th floor of the F-10 tower when it suddenly got stuck on the 14th floor, subsequently plummeting. This accident claimed wight lives with a ninth person remaining in critical condition in the ICU of Noida sector-30 district hospital.
A 73-year-old woman fainted inside a lift after the wire broke in the Paras Tierea Society in sector-137. According to a doctor in a hospital where the woman was taken unconscious, injuries were found on the back of her head and abrasion on her elbows, which appeared to have been caused due to the fall of the lift. Reports say she died of possible cardiac arrest soon after the incident.
As concerns mount, Chief Executive Officer of the Noida administration, Dr Lokesh M, stated: “Taking cognisance of the unfortunate incident of the under-construction lift in Greater Noida, [we have] issued instructions to all the builders and Apartment Owner Associations in the Noida area to take stock of lifts in their buildings and get the servicing of their lifts done at the earliest.”
He stressed the importance of immediate compliance, cautioning, “Notices shall be issued and actions shall be taken against builders & AOA which fail to comply with these instructions and submit their report within the stipulated time period. In case, any untoward incident happens because of lack of servicing of lifts, the concerned builder/ AoA shall be held responsible for criminal negligence and suitable actions shall be taken against them.”
But Rajiva Singh, president of the Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations (NOFAA) told News18 that AOAs are in no way mechanical or lift experts and they simply outsource the responsibility of lift maintenance to a competent agency. Furthermore, he highlighted the importance of the Lift Act saying: “In the absence of a UP Lift Act or any other safety guidelines it becomes very difficult to audit the safety measures for lift operations and setting up accountability.”
In the case of the Paras Tierea Society, the AOA president was arrested. NOFAA vice president Sachin Goyal sees this incident as extremely unfortunate as the builder handed over the responsibilities to the AOA just a few months ago. Additionally, he highlighted that the builder did not have to face the amount of scrutiny as the AOA president, which again happened because of the lack of proper guidelines.
Currently, the Lift Act is seen as the major demand and the representatives of the apartments told News18 that there has been some progress at the state level. In the next part of this story, we will dive deep into the core problems related to apartment lifts and possible solutions highlighted by the heads of the Noida apartment community, which may help the authorities formulate a proper roadmap and avoid injuries or deadly incidents.
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