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NoC violations, the norm here

Last Updated 26 July 2014, 20:47 IST

Faced with a numbing real estate crunch, Bangalore’s spirited vertical push is starkly apparent in the high-rise buildings mushrooming all around. But are they safe, secure and functional enough?

Were they built on strong foundations based on no objection certificates (NoC) issued after stringent, free and fair inspections by government agencies galore? Or do the NoCs remain proof of a process watered down, dangerously compromised to accommodate material and building methods of questionable quality? 

Evidence from across the City paints a scary, grim picture. From residential apartments with fake water supply NoCs to huge multi-storey complexes without the mandatory fire safety clearance certificates, the City’s skyscape is a mix of tell-tale norm violations.

To curb its unregulated issuance of NoCs, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) had to wait for a 2010 amendment to its Act. Sixteen conditions were imposed on builders before the Board could give its go-ahead. But a big proportion of the City’s estimated 20,000 high-rises (height exceeding 15 metre or 50 ft) are without any such certificate. Built on parched lands mainly in the new BBMP areas on the city’s outskirts, such structures remain devoid of drinking water and drainage. The 110 villages that were brought into the Palike fold in 2007 are even worse, lacking any semblance of an underground drainage system. Yet apartment blocks loom large everywhere, towering over the undeveloped landscape.

Systematic violation

One critical condition under the amended BWSSB Act was to ensure that the builder lets out only treated effluents into the natu­ral valley leading to the lakes and tanks. This clearly meant the apartments had to mandatorily instal in-house sewage treatment plants. But in the last several years, this norm has been systematically violated.

This serious breach of rules had forced the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to issue notices to both BWSSB and BBMP.

“We had even booked cases against errant BWSSB engineers in different parts of the city. But we cannot act beyond it, there are legal intricacies involved,” laments KSPCB chairman, Vaman Acharya.

Arresting environmental pollution is KSPCB’s mandate. If the amended BWSSB Act had authorised the water board to develop the necessary infrastructure, under the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, BBMP was responsible for the collection, segregation, recycling and disposal of the solid waste. The Palike had then included apartments, both residential and commercial, under the “bulk waste generators” category. This required segregation at source and even composting. But, as the garbage menace that reached stratospheric proportions showed, this rule too was violated.

Acharya explains that KSPCB’s role is to ensure that the sewage treatment plants are installed in apartments with over 100 flats. “At the construction time, the builder has to take a Consent for Operation (CFO) from us. Our people will then go and inspect whether the treatment facility is in place. Reinspections are done every year thereafter. But we don’t cancel the building’s licence, we issue notices.”

Bribery, well-entrenched

On paper, the norms are stringent. But compliance, as admitted by Acharya, is “sad.” One reason is a well-entrenched system of bribery. Corruption, speed-money to be precise, is rampant. It is formalised through a network of well-connected liaisoning agents who promise smooth delivery of every NoC required by the builder.

As a source well-informed about the dealings explains, a certain percentage of the building cost is earmarked for the liaisoning officers. “For a Rs 100-crore project, Rs 25 lakh or more is set aside for the liaisoning officers. This could vary depending upon the requirement,” the source points out. The well-oiled machinery ensures that people at different levels get a cut. Says he,“Money is distributed right from the watchman to the clerk to the officer. It is a regular practice, and the price and percentage are all fixed. If violations are more, the bribe goes up proportionately, from Rs. 5,000 to 10,000 to a lakh!” 

Rules are bent to let builders exceed the floor area ratio (FAR), permitting them more built-up floor space on the same plot of land. Local bodies including the civic agencies are said to be guilty of this, often involving a nexus of shady agents and colluding officials. KSPCB officials explain that when the built-up area increases, space diminishes for STPs and any tree plantations or gardens that could use the treated water from the STPs.

Fire safety norms

NoC from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services is another key requirement for a high-rise building project. To get this, the National Building Code of India (Fire and life safety) requires such buildings to be equipped with at least two staircases and two lifts. Besides, the high-rises should give enough space/setbacks in the front, sides and rear part. In general, the width should be at least a third of the building’s height.

The objective of this wide setback, as a retired fire officer explains, is to ensure free movement of the fire-tenders. “The fire fighting equipment are 24 ft long, 8.5 ft wide and 9 ft high, sometimes even higher when the ladders are installed. The passage should have a minimum width of six to 16 meters,” he says. Sprinklers, fire-fighting hydrants, detectors and alarm systems are all mandatory. So is a trained fire officer, who can keep those equipment in working condition.

But these stringent requirements do not mean compliance. Hardly. Only about 25 per cent of the high-rises in the city meet these guidelines. “Scores of high-rises in KR Puram, Murugeshpalya and otherplaces in the new BBMP areas haven’t taken the NoC at all. Even in the Central Business District, buildings completed before 1986 lack basic fire safety requirements,” points out B K Hampagol, retired deputy director, technical, fire and emergency services.  
Clearance certificate
However, NoC is only the first step. A Clearance Certificate has to be issued by the fire department once the building is completed. A big number of builders give this a go-by. “It is the duty of the zonal bodies such as BDA and BBMP to insist on the clearance certificate, before they issue the occupancy certificate. Since the fire department is toothless, they cannot do much beyond issuing the NoCs,” says Hampagol.
Even with the NoC and Clearance Certificates, builders and later the apartment associations could be found compromising on safety standards. Staircases are blocked to cut costs, generators are poorly maintained, and overheard water tanks are not filled to one lakh litre capacity to boost fire-fighting as required. This would clearly be not the case if all stake-holders realised the ultimate objective of all those NOCs, inspections and certificates: The residents’ safety and well-being!

 

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(Published 26 July 2014, 20:47 IST)

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