Deccan Chronicle           12.12.2013

VMC to act on old buildings

Municipal commissioner C. Harikiran told this newspaper that the corporation has identified over 180 dilapidated buildings in the city and has started issuing final notices to the owners.

He said that the owners should come forward voluntarily to demolish their buildings or produce a certificate certifying the stability of the building. “The owners should get the certificate from certified engineering experts. The test costs around Rs 20,000,” Harikiran said.

The municipal commissioner said the town planning officials were planning to act immediately keeping in view safety of the public. “The municipal officials will conduct physical verification of the buildings at first and issue notices to the owners. If the owners fail to respond, the officials will resort to demolishing dilapidated structures.”

A majority of the old buildings are in I-Town, Gandhinagar, Governorpet, Suryaraopet and other commercial areas.

As many of the owners have rented the buildings for commercial purposes, they are not willing to repair them, for years altogether.

It may be noted that an old building collapsed recently when the owners are carrying out repairs to the building, resulting in the death of three persons in I-Town.

Following the tragedy, the officials have identified old structures and dilapidated in the city as directed by the municipal commissioner.