<p>When a multi-storey building tilted menacingly like a leaning tower near Electronics City, it appeared like it wanted to tell a story in big, bold letters: That a deadly mix of building bye-law violations, inferior construction quality, and contractor-civic agency nexus was potent enough to kill innocent residents unless harsh measures were taken to immediately break this evil grip.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Quality often takes a beating when the mandate is for quantity, and that’s exactly what is happening in Bangalore. With demand for living spaces mounting, and builders in a rush to cash in on the boom, the sanctity of building designs are increasingly given the go-by.<br /><br /> While reputable builders are out of reach of the majority, smaller players fill the gap offering the so-called “affordable” housing projects. But often, that affordability comes at a price: Substandard construction material and use of inferior quality sand, as buyers realise much after they buy a property.<br /><br />Building plan violations are rampant. The general rule says a maximum of two storeys could be built on a 30X40 ft site. But people do not hesitate to construct at least five to six floors on the small plot. <br /><br />Sample this: At Nandidurga Extension in the heart of the City, a six-storey apartment has come up on a 30X40 ft site although permission was given only for two storeys. The building owner also did not bother to leave any setbacks, which are mandatory as per the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act. People living in the vicinity had reported the matter to the BBMP assistant engineer, whose office is located only a few metres from the site. But he chose not to act. The complainants ran from pillar to post and finally gave up their fight. Offering some hope in this gloomy scenario, the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) set up a forum for people to complain against such building plan violations and engineers who fail to act on public complaints. The BMTF recently registered 28 cases and intends to register 44 more against such engineers. <br /><br />Lately, there has been a spurt in the BBMP’s attempt to check such violations. The engineers have been told to be prompt in attending to any complaint of illegalities in building construction. B T Ramesh, BBMP Engineer-in-Chief, claims his subordinate engineers are prompt in taking action against owners violating building plans. “Our engineers are serving notices to building owners and are halting work wherever there are complaints of violations,” says Ramesh.<br /><br />Use of inferior quality construction material is another big issue. M Surya Rao, a civil engineer, says the quality of sand in Bangalore is inferior to the extent of posing a serious threat to a structure. “The best sand comes from Kollegal, but extraction of sand to exploitation limits will have a negative impact on the environment. It can even change the course of the river if we don’t impose some restraint. The government is doing the right job by discouraging sand mining at Kollegal. But suddenly, the filtered-sand mafia has come in to cater to the infrastructural needs of the City. We all know well that filtered sand is always dangerous for any building,” notes Rao.<br /><br />BDA claims<br />Yet, despite evidence of blatant building law violations and poor quality constructions, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) says such cases are quite few. “Apart from the case of Prestige Shantiniketan, no building within our purview has shown any poor quality construction, at least structurally. Even in the case of Shantiniketan, the fault was mostly to do with poor design rather than quality,” contends BDA engineering member, Chickrayappa.<br /><br />According to the officer, the BDA has been following a strict regime of ensuring that private builders get their structures checked by qualified design and structural engineers and quality testing agencies, before final approval. <br />“If an accident does occur, we are empowered to take criminal action against developers negligent in following procedures,” says Chickrayappa.<br /><br />However, insiders in the BDA reveal that the third party agencies are generally ‘hand in glove’ with contractors while approving their projects. “It is difficult to identify projects that are of low quality, simply because the third party quality testing agencies are ‘adjusted’ by contractors,” say sources.<br /><br />The Shantiniketan accident in 2008 occurred after excavated mud suddenly collapsed when the approach to the underground parking lot was being constructed. Two labourers died and one was injured at the township site in Whitefield. Prior to this accident, another worker had died and several were injured when a part of the same building collapsed.<br /><br />Commenting on the rampant use of filtered sand for building construction, BDA officials say there is no problem if it is used in an appropriate amount. “We cannot put an end to the use of filtered sand, which is the only alternative for construction in the City. Filtered sand can be used depending upon the appropriate microns,” explains an official in the BDA.<br /><br />While sand from riverbeds is the preferred raw material, nearly 15 per cent of the sand used for construction in the City is apparently of the filtered variety, extracted from government lands in the State. It is learnt that filtered sand can be acquired for just Rs 5,000 a lorry load, compared to Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 for riverbed sand, which is the most preferred material for construction. The production of filtered sand is quite easy. It requires just two people, a kerosene or diesel generator, and electricity to produce two truckloads.<br /><br />Fire safety concerns<br />The biggest challenge for the Fire Department staff is the violation of fire-safety norms by builders and non-cooperation of occupants and owners whenever the Fire Department higher-ups visit for inspection.<br /><br />“There are many high-rise structures in the City which have been constructed in violation of norms. Any structure above 15 metres is considered to be a high-rise building, irrespective of the number of floors. Builders construct structures that are below 15 metres and obtain No objection Certificate (NoC). Later, they add a couple of floors to the structure after obtaining the NoC,” says Karnataka Fire & Emergency Services Director B G Chengappa.<br /><br />Most structures in the City lack fire-safety measures. Existing structures are either changed or renovated, violating the norms. At times, owners or builders change occupancy. That is one main reason why the parking lot in the basement becomes a hotel or a commercial office, he points out.<br /><br />Many building owners show space to be used by firefighters in case of fire mishaps, but construct car sheds or other sheds encroaching on the space meant for firefighters. <br /><br />In some cases, buildings are equipped with firefighting equipment, but there are no trained person to use them. Such equipment are rendered non-functional during fire tragedies, he adds.</p>.<p><br />There was no provision in the law to inspect any structure for fire-safety norm violations. The State government modified the existing norms on July 7, 2011, authorising the Fire Department to conduct inspections to ascertain violations. “The inspections should happen with the cooperation of occupants. They never cooperate with the Fire Department staff which is a challenge for us,” says Chengappa.<br /><br /> Builders view<br /><br />Major developers hire leading project management consultants such as L&T, Shapoorji Palonji and Nagarjuna Consultants for proper accounting of the works carried out. Such builders do not compromise with quality.<br /><br />Everything during the course of construction is calculated and each thing is well accounted for, since building a brand name is not an easy task.<br /><br />Major builders do not resort to short cut methods for temporary gains, which can put their brand name at stake. It is only some minor builders who violate building plan norms and then land themselves and also their clients in a soup.<br /><br />- Kiran Kumar V G, <br />Vice President (Liaison),<br />Mantri Developers<br /><br /><br />(With inputs from Jagadish Angadi)</p>
<p>When a multi-storey building tilted menacingly like a leaning tower near Electronics City, it appeared like it wanted to tell a story in big, bold letters: That a deadly mix of building bye-law violations, inferior construction quality, and contractor-civic agency nexus was potent enough to kill innocent residents unless harsh measures were taken to immediately break this evil grip.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Quality often takes a beating when the mandate is for quantity, and that’s exactly what is happening in Bangalore. With demand for living spaces mounting, and builders in a rush to cash in on the boom, the sanctity of building designs are increasingly given the go-by.<br /><br /> While reputable builders are out of reach of the majority, smaller players fill the gap offering the so-called “affordable” housing projects. But often, that affordability comes at a price: Substandard construction material and use of inferior quality sand, as buyers realise much after they buy a property.<br /><br />Building plan violations are rampant. The general rule says a maximum of two storeys could be built on a 30X40 ft site. But people do not hesitate to construct at least five to six floors on the small plot. <br /><br />Sample this: At Nandidurga Extension in the heart of the City, a six-storey apartment has come up on a 30X40 ft site although permission was given only for two storeys. The building owner also did not bother to leave any setbacks, which are mandatory as per the Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act. People living in the vicinity had reported the matter to the BBMP assistant engineer, whose office is located only a few metres from the site. But he chose not to act. The complainants ran from pillar to post and finally gave up their fight. Offering some hope in this gloomy scenario, the Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) set up a forum for people to complain against such building plan violations and engineers who fail to act on public complaints. The BMTF recently registered 28 cases and intends to register 44 more against such engineers. <br /><br />Lately, there has been a spurt in the BBMP’s attempt to check such violations. The engineers have been told to be prompt in attending to any complaint of illegalities in building construction. B T Ramesh, BBMP Engineer-in-Chief, claims his subordinate engineers are prompt in taking action against owners violating building plans. “Our engineers are serving notices to building owners and are halting work wherever there are complaints of violations,” says Ramesh.<br /><br />Use of inferior quality construction material is another big issue. M Surya Rao, a civil engineer, says the quality of sand in Bangalore is inferior to the extent of posing a serious threat to a structure. “The best sand comes from Kollegal, but extraction of sand to exploitation limits will have a negative impact on the environment. It can even change the course of the river if we don’t impose some restraint. The government is doing the right job by discouraging sand mining at Kollegal. But suddenly, the filtered-sand mafia has come in to cater to the infrastructural needs of the City. We all know well that filtered sand is always dangerous for any building,” notes Rao.<br /><br />BDA claims<br />Yet, despite evidence of blatant building law violations and poor quality constructions, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) says such cases are quite few. “Apart from the case of Prestige Shantiniketan, no building within our purview has shown any poor quality construction, at least structurally. Even in the case of Shantiniketan, the fault was mostly to do with poor design rather than quality,” contends BDA engineering member, Chickrayappa.<br /><br />According to the officer, the BDA has been following a strict regime of ensuring that private builders get their structures checked by qualified design and structural engineers and quality testing agencies, before final approval. <br />“If an accident does occur, we are empowered to take criminal action against developers negligent in following procedures,” says Chickrayappa.<br /><br />However, insiders in the BDA reveal that the third party agencies are generally ‘hand in glove’ with contractors while approving their projects. “It is difficult to identify projects that are of low quality, simply because the third party quality testing agencies are ‘adjusted’ by contractors,” say sources.<br /><br />The Shantiniketan accident in 2008 occurred after excavated mud suddenly collapsed when the approach to the underground parking lot was being constructed. Two labourers died and one was injured at the township site in Whitefield. Prior to this accident, another worker had died and several were injured when a part of the same building collapsed.<br /><br />Commenting on the rampant use of filtered sand for building construction, BDA officials say there is no problem if it is used in an appropriate amount. “We cannot put an end to the use of filtered sand, which is the only alternative for construction in the City. Filtered sand can be used depending upon the appropriate microns,” explains an official in the BDA.<br /><br />While sand from riverbeds is the preferred raw material, nearly 15 per cent of the sand used for construction in the City is apparently of the filtered variety, extracted from government lands in the State. It is learnt that filtered sand can be acquired for just Rs 5,000 a lorry load, compared to Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 for riverbed sand, which is the most preferred material for construction. The production of filtered sand is quite easy. It requires just two people, a kerosene or diesel generator, and electricity to produce two truckloads.<br /><br />Fire safety concerns<br />The biggest challenge for the Fire Department staff is the violation of fire-safety norms by builders and non-cooperation of occupants and owners whenever the Fire Department higher-ups visit for inspection.<br /><br />“There are many high-rise structures in the City which have been constructed in violation of norms. Any structure above 15 metres is considered to be a high-rise building, irrespective of the number of floors. Builders construct structures that are below 15 metres and obtain No objection Certificate (NoC). Later, they add a couple of floors to the structure after obtaining the NoC,” says Karnataka Fire & Emergency Services Director B G Chengappa.<br /><br />Most structures in the City lack fire-safety measures. Existing structures are either changed or renovated, violating the norms. At times, owners or builders change occupancy. That is one main reason why the parking lot in the basement becomes a hotel or a commercial office, he points out.<br /><br />Many building owners show space to be used by firefighters in case of fire mishaps, but construct car sheds or other sheds encroaching on the space meant for firefighters. <br /><br />In some cases, buildings are equipped with firefighting equipment, but there are no trained person to use them. Such equipment are rendered non-functional during fire tragedies, he adds.</p>.<p><br />There was no provision in the law to inspect any structure for fire-safety norm violations. The State government modified the existing norms on July 7, 2011, authorising the Fire Department to conduct inspections to ascertain violations. “The inspections should happen with the cooperation of occupants. They never cooperate with the Fire Department staff which is a challenge for us,” says Chengappa.<br /><br /> Builders view<br /><br />Major developers hire leading project management consultants such as L&T, Shapoorji Palonji and Nagarjuna Consultants for proper accounting of the works carried out. Such builders do not compromise with quality.<br /><br />Everything during the course of construction is calculated and each thing is well accounted for, since building a brand name is not an easy task.<br /><br />Major builders do not resort to short cut methods for temporary gains, which can put their brand name at stake. It is only some minor builders who violate building plan norms and then land themselves and also their clients in a soup.<br /><br />- Kiran Kumar V G, <br />Vice President (Liaison),<br />Mantri Developers<br /><br /><br />(With inputs from Jagadish Angadi)</p>
