The Hindu 16.05.2013
Buildings to be inspected for violation of rules
Spot verification of buildings that were found constructed in violation of building rules in Kochi will begin shortly.
An investigation carried out by the office of the Senior Town Planner (Vigilance) in Kochi last year had identified 34 cases of violation of Kerala Municipal Building Rules. A list of 21 officials, including a former corporation secretary, a corporation engineer, a town planning officer, an assistant executive engineer and a few building inspectors of the local body responsible for issuing building permits and other clearances for the structures was also drawn up by the Local Administration Department following the inspection.
The ground verification of the buildings needs to be carried out for fixing the responsibility regarding the violations. In some cases, the builders might have constructed the building plans after obtaining all the clearances from the local bodies. In some other cases, the civic authorities might have permitted the violations. Each case will have to be examined separately against the permit documents for fixing the onus of the violations, said a Vigilance official. Legal action will be initiated against the erring officials after the completion of the assessment. The evaluation process has already started in some local bodies of the State, he said.
The vigilance team had also pulled up the Corporation for issuing building permits without proper verification of the Detailed Town Planning scheme and provisions of the structural plans.
