Senior citizens and physically challenged people in Delhi will now have easier access to the buildings’ roofs and terraces. The bylaws governing installation of lifts in the residential buildings of the city have been amended, and as per the new rules, “all the floors, including basement and rooftop/terrace, shall be accessible by the lifts.”
“Several points of unified building bylaws of Delhi-2016 rules, which govern construction of buildings, have been amended by Delhi Development Authority (DDA). The new rules shall be applicable from February 12, 2020 onwards,” said a senior south corporation official.
Till now, lifts are available only till the highest floor. From there, people have to climb up to the roof/terrace using staircases.
“It was causing inconvenience to senior citizens and disabled people. Their access to roofs was hindered and their wheelchairs had to be carried from the top floor,” the official added.
Lifts provided in the buildings will, however, not be considered for use in case of an emergency, clarify the amended regulations. “It is important to keep staircase access for tragedies like fire,” added the official.
Some other changes regarding height exemptions and building permit requirement regarding lifts have also been incorporated in the amended bylaws.
“Earlier, the height of a machine room/lift room, which houses all the equipment on a roof, was included in the overall permissible height of the building. This has now been exempted,” the official said.
“People would be reluctant to install lifts in residential buildings in several cases as the height for the floors had to be reduced. But now, the machine room shall be exempted from the height limit,” explained the official.
However, the total height cannot breach the Airport Authority of India’s permissible limits.
To facilitate easy installation of lifts, authorities have also expanded the list of procedures for which building permit will not be required.
