Unsteady buildings

This monsoon, the cities of Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Patna, Ahmedabad and other smaller cities have registered their fair share of collapses, but the majority of mega collapses have been

concentrated in the Mumbai metropolitan region. Maharashtra, reeling from the excessive media interest because of the recent series of collapses, is talking tough yet again. On July 26,

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said in the state Legislative Assembly, “If a building collapses within 30 years of its structural audit, the agency or person who undertook the audit will

be held responsible for the mishap. The erring audit agency or person will be black-listed and criminal proceedings will be started against them.” Chavan further announced, “64 officials

have been designated in BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) and three new police stations will be set up to curb the menace of illegal construction.” Structural audits of buildings

older than 15 years were approved by the Maharashtra legislature in 2007 after the collapse of a Borivali building that killed 30 people. It seems this may get implemented now; but to what

end? Structural auditors will continue to face scepticism from the local community in Mumbai, the same they have been facing since 2007. Local communities see these audits as a way to open

and grab more land for policies of redevelopment being promoted vociferously by developers and the government. Recent announcements on structural audits by Maharashtra government seem to

offer no assurances against just scepticism. The need of the hour is to fix the existing system and enforce existing standards. FIX THINGS FIRST Chavan’s grand announcements (though

reassuring) sound like the addition of another layer of complications to an already mind-numbingly convoluted building regulation and monitoring system. Illegal extensions, haphazard

renovations, neglected old buildings, inferior quality building material or abnormal construction speed which does not allow proper strengthening of structural skeleton may be because of

greed and the building mafia. But the collapse of a building, even after it has been reinforced according to the weighty safety standards and regulatory framework of the country, is

symptomatic of a regulatory failure more than anything else. State and city governments should try to fix the building permit mess and ensure the honest implementation of existing standards

and bye-laws; the rest will take care of itself. But this is more easily said than done. One major problem which makes streamlining of building construction tricky is the black money

floating in the real estate market. Tackling this problem and legally establishing accountability of various stakeholders can achieve the much-needed transparency in the sector. The proposed

Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill holds promise in this regard. The confidential draft of the Bill has been approved by the Union Cabinet and the government press release paints

a rosy picture. But as always, the devil is in the fine details and as long as the complete draft of the Bill is not made public, it is not possible to predict its effectiveness. Let’s hope

that the political will to push for public good and safety will insulate itself from the nasty influence of the building lobby. That already existent checks for safety are effectively

implemented instead of introduction of new complications. And that dilapidated buildings are soundly built and retrofitted for safety instead of being tastefully framed.