The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) is planning to make a third party structural audit of all highrises compulsory, in the wake of the cave-in at Gurgaon’s Chintels Paradiso condominium last month.
Currently, there is no provision for a structural audit in the UP Apartment Act, and developers get the same done by auditors of their choice for seeking completion certificates from the GDA. If the new proposal gets a nod from the state government, officials said, the Act will be amended making it mandatory for all private developers to get a structural audit of their buildings done by auditors empanelled under the GDA.
GDA’s chief town planner Asheesh Shivpuri told, “In view of the building collapse in Gurgaon, it has been unanimously agreed upon that a provision should be made in the UP Apartment Act bestowing powers on development or industrial authorities to make structural audits of all buildings developed by private real-tors mandatory.”
“It has been decided at the highest level in the GDA that a proposal to this effect be sent to the state government at the earliest for its approval,” he added.
According to officials, the GDA may engage a panel of auditors — be it IIT-Delhi, Jamia Millia Islamia or Rail India Technical and Economic Service. “Developers will have to get a structural audit of their buildings done from one of our empanelled auditors to get completion certificates issued,” said Shivpuri.
Highlighting the imperativeness of the proposal, Shivpuri said due to the prevailing practice, auditors hired by private builders tend to overlook any lacuna in a building structure which could compromise the safety of the highrise in the long run. “In case of a building collapse, the heat is on the development authorities,” he said .
