The Hindu 03.02.2010
No permanent system to demolish weak buildings
N.J. Nair
| Permits given without verifying strength of buildings |
Many buildings ‘lean’ due to structural defects
Civic bodies lack qualified engineers to assess safety
Thiruvananthapuram: Absence of a permanent mechanism for demolishing old and structurally defective buildings has exposed the chinks in the official system that controls and regulates the construction sector in the State.
Official sources told The Hindu here that the local self-government institutions which issued building construction and renovation permits did not have qualified persons to assess the safety of the structures. Clearances were given without verifying the strength and fitness of the buildings and the layout proposals.
Each civic body should ideally have a qualified structural engineer whose certification should be made mandatory for renovation and reconstruction of buildings, sources said. In metropolitan cities such as Mumbai, the civic bodies have a system for identifying unsafe structures and certifying them as unfit for occupation.
A number of buildings in the State reportedly ‘lean’ to one side from structural defects. These include residential buildings, hospitals and places of mass assemblage. A majority of them are within the limits of the Corporations.
This points to the immediacy of the need for having a permanent monitoring mechanism under the civic bodies for identifying unsafe buildings.
The dilapidated buildings should be demolished and those that can be salvaged should be strengthened under strict supervision, sources said.
Instances of adding more floors to buildings on old and weak foundations are aplenty in the State. After securing permission for constructing two or three floors, additions are made without seeking the mandatory approval. Once the weight becomes unbearable, the structure will lean and even crumble.
Quite often, the civic bodies fail to initiate action against such unauthorised constructions and in some places, they issue door numbers too to them in gross violation of the rules.
Local Self-Government Department sources said that amendments would be made soon to the Kerala Municipal Building Rules to get the structural strength and safety of buildings ascertained. The latest amendments had covered the safety norms to a considerable extent. Sufficient changes may be made, if needed.
This will be strictly observed in the case of the existing as well as the new buildings. The department will explore the option of entrusting the local bodies with the phasing out of old, dilapidated and unsafe structures, sources said.
