The Hindu 02.05.2013
Efforts that will make buildings safer
LPA can demolish structures if safety norms not followed
Following the fire at Vigneshwar Cresta on Avanashi Road
that claimed four lives last week, the Local Planning Authority (LPA)
and Coimbatore Corporation have started sealing unauthorised structures
and a team of officials from different departments are inspecting the
public buildings in the city.
The immediate focus is
on public buildings, especially those under construction or those that
were just constructed. The Coimbatore Corporation and the LPA have
identified 201 structures for action and are placing these buildings
under seal. The building owners can go for appeal, apply for
regularisation, or provide the mandatory safety systems. The LPA can
demolish the structures if the required action is not taken.
Will
these efforts make the public, multi-storeyed and special buildings in
the city safer and ensure that all these structures comply with the
norms?
There are buildings in the city that were
served notice by the department concerned even seven or eight years ago
but have not taken the required action, points out K. Kathirmathiyon,
secretary of the Coimbatore Consumer Cause.
“If the
existing structures that do not comply with the norms need to be brought
down, probably there will be thousands in the city. Preventive action
should be taken so that there are no more violations and the number of
buildings that can get added to the list of existing structures with
violations should be controlled,” he adds.
Some of
the States are working on ways to stop unauthorised constructions.
Stringent steps by the local body and the electricity department can
help bring down unauthorised constructions.
The Tamil
Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation should not provide
electricity supply to buildings that do not have the required approvals
or the completion certificate from the competent authority. The local
body should not assess the building for property tax and should not
provide water connection. This will ensure that buildings get the
required approvals and adopt the safety norms, he says.
Details of the approval procedure are available on: http://www.tn.gov.in/tcp/building_plan.html