Six professional bodies from various fields such as geotechnicality, construction and civil engineering have made several recommendations to change or alter some rules proposed in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s draft of building bylaws.
BBMP is revising its building bylaws for the first time since 2003 and had notified the draft back in 2020.
The groups met a couple of times and scanned the draft to find any scope for improvement or suggest some practical revisions. By having discussions through study circles, the Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (ACCE), Indian Concrete Institute, Indian Geotechnical Society, INSTRUCT, Institution of Engineers, and Indian Plumbing Association have put together a descriptive list of suggestions for the civic body to consider and incorporate.
A conglomerate of these bodies produced the final report on their recommendations recently and they are looking forward to submitting it to BBMP in a week.
Citing the frequent collapse of buildings, these organisations want to rectify any gaps in building regulations so that maximum safety is ensured for the dwellers. “People put their life savings into buying a new house or a flat. If poor construction quality causes a threat to their lives, it can have disastrous effects on a family,” Shrikanth Channal, chairman of ACCE (Bengaluru centre), said.
Highlighting a loophole in the draft, Channal pointed out that as per BBMP rules, the height of the basement or parking floor is mandated to be 2.4m in some places and 2.75m in others. “Hence, when a civic official comes for inspection, they may find a height of 2.4m in the basement and reject the application for an occupancy certificate over this violation. Scientifically, the right height should be 2.7m and they must correct that in the draft,” he said.
Dr CR Parthasarathy, chairman of Indian Geotechnical Institute, said civic awareness is the key. “Citizens must follow rules and civic authorities must penalise individuals for violations. Such laws can have long-term consequences from the perspective of sustainability,” he added.
The recommendations are mainly based on the rules stipulated in National Building Code mandated by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
Although drafted in 2020, building bylaws have not yet been imposed. Saying it is ‘high time’ for their implementation, the bodies look forward to making a meaningful impact in the housing sector through their report.
“There are multiple lives at stake and the best standard of construction and scientific planning has to be ensured,” Channal added.
BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said he would look into the recommendations as and when they are submitted.
