india

Updated: Oct 13, 2019 23:35 IST

A year on, the stringent building bylaws adopted by the municipal corporation remain ineffective and unauthorised structures continue to mushroom under urban local bodies’ (ULB) limits.

As per the new bylaws, action will be taken against not just builders but also officials concerned of the building department. An official, requesting anonymity, said, “The encroachments are so widespread that of every 10 complaints we receive, seven pertain to building bylaw violations.”

The corporation has issued notices to 540 defaulters since 2014, however, 250 people have not responded to them.

“No action has been initiated against the non-responders. Many of these illegal structures have been raised in the main market area at behest of some influential politicians and senior officials of the civic body,” said an official, pleading anonymity.

MC commissioner Poonamdeep Kaur said after taking charge earlier this month, she has taken serious note of complaints related to violation of building laws: “A meeting of senior officials of the building department and town planners was held on Friday and officials were directed to take punitive action against defaulters.”

She said the corporation has sufficient building inspectors. “The inspectors have been delegated different areas and they have been instructed to comb every under construction and newly constructed building to ensure there are no violations. Moreover, they have been asked to ensure that the buildings display the building plans passed by the corporation,” she said.

The commissioner added that officials have been told that responsibility will be fixed in case anomalies came to fore in their respective areas.

What the new bylaws state

The new rules state that in the case of unauthorised development, the authority shall take suitable action, which may include demolition of unauthorised works, sealing of premises, prosecution and criminal proceeding against the offender in pursuance of relevant laws. The municipal employees, who by their act of commission or omission have allowed unauthorised construction, will also be liable for similar action.

As per the notification, besides the building inspector and owner of the building, assistant town planner (ATPs) of the respective ULB will also be held responsible.

“The competent authority reserves the right to take action and debar or blacklist the town planner, architect, civil engineer, supervisor or plumber, if found to have made any false statement in authentication of a plan or in supervision of the construction against the building bylaws and sanctioned building plans,” the law reads.Meanwhile, the new bylaws focus on detection of unauthorised building activities taking place in different areas and zones in the royal city, right at the start, so that it can be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Acts.