Urban Development Dept and Disaster Management Authorities will ensure to regulate to adopt Byelaws
Shimla: After losing preciously lives in building collapse at Kumarhatti in Solan, the state government seems waking up from its deep slumber, and finally decided to adopt Model Building Byelaws.
In a meeting on techno-legal regime for construction activities, Principal Secretary Revenue and Disaster Management Onkar Chand Sharma, said that Urban Development Department will share the compliance report on adoption of Model Building Bye Laws by every Urban Local Bodies in the State as per directions of State Executive Committee constituted under Disaster Management Act 2005.
The District Disaster Management Authorities will also follow with the Urban Local Bodies of their district to adopt Model Building Bye Laws.
Sharma said that Urban Development Department alongwith Disaster Management Authorities would ensure that constructions will be regulated as per the adopted Model Building Bye Laws by the ULBs. He said that Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department will ensure safe construction practices in the rural areas for which adequate Information Education and Communication (IECs) activities will be carried out.
Sharma said that all construction activities involving buildings such as educational institutes, housing colonies, hotels and resorts or any other commercial structure such as dhabas, tea stalls, home stay etc. will be got screened for structural and fire safety by the District Disaster Management Authorities.
He said that in future PRIs will ensure that such structures are constructed as per safety standards. He said that Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department will spread the knowledge about safe construction practices and traditional building practices in villages and Gram Panchayats with the help of IEC material and activities in association with state and district Disaster Management Authorities.
He said that it was decided also in the meeting that Disaster Management Authorities headed by the Deputy Commissioner of each district will check that the vulnerable building or commercial structure developed in hazards prone zone may be surveyed and proper action to ensure safety will be taken with the help of tourism department and other line departments to avoid repeat of Kumarhatti like incident in future. He said that Rural Development and Panchayati Raj department will support the State and District Disaster Management Authorities for implementation of the scheme on training of masons, carpenters, bar binders and other artisans in hazard resistant construction by training 5-10 masons from each panchayats in order to institutionalize and promote the safe construction practices in the state.
Sharma said that SDMA will develop a data base of retired engineers, architects and technocrats in the state from various departments so that general public can use their service for safe construction in urban and rural areas.
Director cum Special Secretary Revenue and Disaster Management D.C. Rana, Director RD&PR Rakesh Kanwar, Director Town and Country Planning C. Paulrasu, Architect-in-Chief N.K. Negi, Additional Director Rural Development Sachin Kanwal, Joint Director Urban Development K.C. Gaur, Deputy Secretary PWD Ritu Raj Verma, Assistant Town Planner Rohit Bhardwaj and other officers attended the meeting.
Most cities of the state viz. Shimla, Solan and others have scores of unregulated, haphazard unsafe construction. Chock-a-block buildings are common site in earthquake prone fragile Himalayan region of the state and a major misshape can anytime struck in the state, if timely action wasn’t taken.
