Indian Express 25.11.2010
MCD to cut buildings flouting height limit down to size
Express News Service Tags : mcd extra floors to their buildings, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, building, permissible limit, unauthorised regularised residential colonies Posted: Thu Nov 25 2010, 03:43 hrs
New Delhi: Owners who have been adding extra floors to their buildings beyond permissible limit will soon face action from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).On Wednesday, MCD Commissioner K S Mehra said extra floors of all buildings that are beyond the prescribed height will soon be pulled down. This will apply to all approved, unauthorised and unauthorised regularised residential colonies.
The MCD decision comes after the building collapse in Lalita Park that killed 70 persons. According to Delhi Masperplan 2021, in many areas of the Capital 15 metres is the maximum height for all buildings. Mehra added the civic agency will conducted a survey to identify “dangerous buildings” in the city. Mehra said the consultancy charges and the cost of retrofitting, in case it is carried out to make a building structurally stable, will have to be borne by the residents.
The MCD commissioner also said the experts of Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), who had collected samples from the collapse site in Lalita Park, East Delhi, and inspected other constructions in the area, will revert to the MCD soon. Following this, the civic agency will take necessary action, including retrofitting of buildings as per CBRI guidelines. Meanwhile, a meeting of the MCD Standing Committee on Wednesday had to be adjourned half-way after the Opposition created a ruckus over the “delay” in submitting the report of the Chief Vigilance Officer, who was asked by the MCD to probe building collapse.
Mehra said the CVO has sought more time to complete the probe as there are “complex issues” involved and he needs to go through the documents seized by him.
